5/5 best slice-of-life I’ve read so far.

I love 8man he is so cool

The feels omg.

MC is very relatable in a way.

Read all of the volumes as well as both anime seasons 5/5.

Volumes were better though, details were skipped in anime.

TL;DR: There's a reason why this novel got ranked first 3 TIMES IN A ROW (2014, 2015, and 2016) on kono light novel ga sugoi (This Light Novel is Amazing! annual magazine ranking).

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Characters- the characters, even all the potential harem candidates that are usually 2d cutouts in other novels, actually have personalities. The MC has a... "unique" view on the world, which always adds comedy to keep the story fresh. The other girls are all different - one is cool, one is trying to fit in, one is a... more>> liar, etc... in other words, each character is different unlike most other novels, where all the side characters serve the purpose of glorifying the MC. Every character has his/her own flaws (especially the MC), and the whole cast struggles through common (or maybe not so common for unsocial people like me) high school dilemmas together. Each character is involved in the plot, and none are forgotten. The only flaw I see is the lack of development in the best girl route (sensei). Considering that, 9/10.

Story- As stated earlier, all the (main) characters are involved in this story, and the novel does its best to incorporate them into each arc. Every arc is distinct; they are never rinse-and-repeat copies of older arcs. They also keep up the quality as no arc has been boring for me to read. On the topic of 'boring', I really don't enjoy slice-of-life because that is exactly what slice-of-life is-boring. However, this novel manages to get me immersed into the story, which is a miracle in itself. Overall, 10/10 (Maybe I was biased since this is the only slice-of-life that I found interesting...)

If you really aren't a novel guy/gal (why are you even on this website???), fear not! This novel has an anime adaptation that is actually very good. Good art, good music, good adaptation. 9/10 would recommend to any1 <<less

This is the best slice of life story I have ever read. The writer views and contempt of society is well interpreted the characters are amazing, even side characters are worth mentioning and protagonist view of society and his occasional comments are worth to listen. The story is only lacking on the romantic aspect, all the other elements are in it but only romance is missing but it will come in the next novel probably.

Everybody should read this novel as it has its values like they will be open to... more>> themselves as it shows that trying to be someone else other than themselves is only going to hurt yourselves so live the way you want.

Capiche!!! <<less

Overall a very good read. Probably the best I've ever read, and I've read a lot of novels. Originally I thought "romantic comedy? Gdi more of this shit, " but honestly the romantic part isn't very emphasized as I thought it would be ... more>>

Spoiler

of course until you reach volume 11, then the tension really gets going (kek actually three girls gunning for one guy, even loners can be potential harem protagonists)

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Best part of this series is the interactions between the characters. MC's monologues flow beautifully and there's a lot of "reading in between the lines" going on in almost every interaction, to the point where you just automatically analyze every character's lines. The story is also very realistic and relatable; almost everyone can sympathize with one or more of the characters in this story. Props to the translators/editors though; I think they really managed to capture and improve upon Watari's semantics. <<less

This a damn good LN to read due to how real the relationships feel and form. Also, I have never read anything that captures a cynical loner's thought process better than this novel. That sounds bad buts It's really nice to read how the MC meets with and interacts with these people and slowly builds a relationship with them. He changes them through the interactions and they change him in ways I won't spoil.

All in all I would recommend this novel. Also the anime was a good adaption so feel... more>> free to watch the first 2 seasons then come back here to read the later parts of the story <<less

I haven’t read many slice of life novels so I can’t compare this against any, but I can easily say that this series deserves a five out of five. It is a romantic comedy but don’t fool yourself into thinking that it focuses on this. In all honesty I would be fine if the main character ended up alone. (There is a whole shipping war that would disagree with me though.)

Each novel will deal with a single problem, “request” rather, and along with that the characters deal with each... more>> other and develop along the way. I, myself, don’t like a few characters but it isn’t for their lack of detail or depth; it is simply my own personality and opinions not finding them enjoyable. I am sure that if you read it you might find a character that you don’t like, but even if that happened you would probably still enjoy the series like I did. The main character, Hikigaya Hachiman, is about as cynical as it can get. He thinks poorly of life in general and because of this, his narrative is quite funny and enjoyable. It is a first person narrative so you are getting his thoughts on everything. A typically simple dialogue might end up being really long because of his intermitting thoughts. Because of that I would recommend giving one novel a shot to see what it’s like. If you like it then you will like the rest; if you don’t like it then just give up because it is more of the same and the only thing that changes is that the story picks up in the second half and the author gets better at writing. His character is most certainly developed but it will still be more of the same so it’s quite critical that you like the him.

Before reading this I watched the anime adaption but it skipped a lot of details and thoughts. If you watched the anime and found that his thoughts were annoying then obviously this wouldn’t be for you. If you found them to be enjoyable then you would definitely like reading this. Except you might find it tedious rereading all of it. The first six novels definitely have character and story development but it is no where near the developments that start with volume 7. I would say that the first six volumes are definitely worth reading but if you watched the anime I don’t think you would be missing out on too much so you would be perfectly fine starting from volume six. Better to start on five though so that you can get used to reading it rather than watching it because the mediums are quite different and some events and exchanges actually require a bit of comprehension on your part. Most novels hand their content on silver platter for you but this one won’t be as explicit as most are. <<less

One of the best romcom light novels I've ever red so far. The way of delivering Hachiman's monologue is so unique that even when you are bored reading it, you still reading it because of many reasons.

I highly recommend this light novel for those who likes reading long monologues. Even when you hate monologue, you can still enjoy reading it because there are many plot twist and of course, Ponkan8-sama's magnificent illustrations.

Easily the best slice of life light novel you will ever read.

A great cast and great character interactions is what this novel depends upon.

If you like slice of life then read it.

Why is this tagged seinen though ?

the novel tries to tell a story about a loner boy who never has friends and how he sees the world from first person perspective. There are really good characters to support the cast.

If you find being a loner because of circumstances is wrong so this novel is not for you.

It starts has a comedy slice of life turned into heavy character drama. You see a lot of good character development in the story and for the first time you find a relatable MC which is not generic.

A really amazing series~ The writing is godly! What I mainly enjoy in this are the word games. Especially the ones between the 8-man and the snow under the snow~

Hachiman though a bit of a sad character somehow really resonates with me! Well I'm going through a similarly cynical phase...

Edit: His proclivity towards martyrdom is amusing, but sadly doesn't measure up to his charm from when he was purely a cynic... Still warrants a 5 tho~

Love the story, has it's interesting side because of the MC character, which you can usually refer to and understand him in a somewhat extent, and his methods, found it an awesome ROM com though it might come down to a harem or absolute FA mode in the end.

Still, love it

I stopped after one volume.

Hikigaya & Yukino have depth of character. Through Hikigaya in particular, I'm reflected back to some awkward parts of myself in high school.

Essentially, we have a false-front loner who fears failure and wishes to escape expectations, and a conceited perfectionist who abhors modesty, both awkwardly manipulated into some competition over whose principles serve the world (or at least themselves) better.

But the dialogue and scenarios are rather cringe in how they're written, and often lack the convincing weight of reality. A cartoonish classroom bit*h character has everyone... more>> in terror but is completely deflated with an “Ngh... !” as soon as one person says something kind of childishly rude back to her. Most of it is a jumble of references that don't quite translate and still aren't funny when they do.

It's clumsy at getting from A to B. There's too much empty debate before we've gotten to any kind of tangible conflict or premise. And you'll get whiplash from everyone constantly saying cruelly mean sh*t to each other in the midst of all their nice intentions.

It's shooting for something bigger than a shallow light novel, but that ambition hasn't improved the quality of writing. There's room for it to grow, but I'd rather try a different book than give OreGairu additional chances. <<less

I completed this back when v14 released, and I've watched all the anime seasons too, as well as read some of the manga. I like the light novels the best because the amount of detail is a lot more compared to the anime. There's some moments when the inner monologue gets rambley or repeat a bit, but I enjoyed it as a series/franchise quite a bit, and it's one of my favorite romcom dramas. I enjoy Hachiman, Yukino, and many of the issues they face with their class and life,... more>> and I like the slow-burn friendship/romance in the series. A lot of side characters like Kawasaki are also enjoyable with fleshed out scenes in the light novels (ex, for Kawasaki, I really enjoyed how she doted on and cared for her little siblings, and I thought it was really sweet). I highly recommend the series; it's licensed in English as well with a good official translation. <<less

What to say, probably the best romcom out there, in my not so humble opinion.

It deals extremely well with your typical tropes while adding lots of original twists on high school drama (with some realistic/pessimistic overtones being present but not in a baffling way), the comedy lands almost all the time, the limited but interesting cast of characters, while initially presented as archetypes, are actually explored upon and become more than what they seemed to be.

And last but not least, Hachiman is just my favorite protagonist of any rom-com, period.... more>> Extremely good read.

(And if you liked the anime and are not sure if reading the LN is worth it, let me tell you that reading all events from Hachiman's POV is truly something else, and a better experience than the anime imo) <<less

This novel is a top-notch slice of life novel. The development of characters as they interact with each other and face different problems or events that lead to understanding of each other's emotion and personality. This is a gem novel because the plot is entertaining and the characters behave realistically unlike other novel which their actions, thoughts, or reactions are not logically realistic. The characters is not simple and even the side characters have their own development unlike in other novels which are forgotten or does not develop or change... more>> at all. <<less

Probably the best SoL in the last decade. 2010s.

I prefer the season one art over the others, and while I have mixed feelings on the ending, the fanfics do a great job of satisfying my preferences. 8man is possibly the greatest representation of what a realistic smart loner is like. Ugly, goofy, weird, and traumatized, but with a strong sense of responsibility. As for heroines, very well crafted and they feel like real people.

You owe it to yourself to read this. I recommend the first couple episodes of the anime... more>> to get hooked.

Gems like these are why we keep watching anime. <<less

Very good. Actually has quite a few moments where I laughed out out and I'm not one to do so. Solid characters. Slow, deliberate character development. A negative is that there are way too many manga references and it's pretty overwhelming without adding much to the story even when I did get the references.