So- to start with this review may not be as in-depth as my other ones due to volume 1 only being around 22 chapters long. But- a lot has been introduced so far about the world, and I did enjoy the novel for sure- so a review at this point should be fun. Now then- onto the review itself, I'll be trying to keep this spoiler free as always but let me know if you want me to censor anything MangaStoryFan .

Characters:

The characters here are all pretty fun- with a pretty good variety too with even the main 3 characters having very different viewpoints on the world as well as different moral viewpoints. Even personality wise it ranges from kind-hearted naïve characters to colder experienced characters- and characters who range in between that of course.

And even then- the characters don't fully conform to their stereotypes either which makes them more interesting to read. I.e., one of the characters has a trait of being very kind- but even that goes too far, and it worries me in an interesting way about how that kindness goes to far and may be exploited in the future in a heart-wrenching scene later down the line. But we'll see.

Plot:

Ok so yeah this is the most iffy part of the novel to me- not in a bad way of course but, just in a weird way. Mainly because for most of volume 1 there really wasn't much of a overarching plot for the series honestly- more so just smaller and more heat-of-the-moment smaller arcs/scenes. In my opinion at least- I guess if you count this novel as a standalone it technically did have it's own plot later on. But- knowing that Nekosuki going to be far longer than just one volume, yeah I don't see volume 1 as a standalone book.

If I was to do that though- I would say that the plot was pretty solid, even if the story is definitely more character driven so far. It had a good introduction, middle, and end that I enjoyed all the way through.

But back to how I view it personally- the novel's only about 22 chapters in so, it makes sense that the big main plot of the story wasn't shown too much.

Also- the volume ends off with a solid idea of what the main plot will be, which definitely made me want to read more at least- and it's a good sign that I'll have a lot more to say about the plot later on.

One pro to this is definitely the fact that Manga's style of writing makes he

Fights/Powers:

Manga has used his experience from The Banished to make this aspect pretty great once again, and I might argue the fight choreography and descriptions here are the best he's done so far. On an objective scale though, his past stories aside, I think most of the fights were really well done and fun to watch- even without considering the power system.

But on that note damn- the power system so far has been interesting to learn about, and what we've seen shown firsthand has been well defined. I hope it'll be further explained later on, but volume 1 was definitely a good start to it.

As for the powers themselves though they're really neat- we haven't seen too many limits for them yet, however I really like the ideas and their potential, especially when they'll be combined with actual limits.

And I'll give a bonus point for the main character's fighting style- it really is a blast to watch how she fights as well as takes on different tasks in general.

Worldbuilding:

It's both goofy and pretty horrifying at the same time- but it's well developed all the same and really entertaining to me at least. Manga spent a lot of time showing off and explaining bits of the world that were shown- including the wildlife... that's uh... interesting to say the least- very fun to watch regardless, and the wildlife is even used in more ways than just for looking cool.

But on to the actual world itself- it starts off small with the main protagonists village being explored, which was done pretty well actually as it actually showed off the daily lives of the citizens and their living conditions quite well, especially considering it was only over the course of a few chapters.

But then- the main character, or maybe even more so us readers considering how much courage the MC has, get a reality check later down the line. Pretty soon, the story shows how much bigger the world is than the MC's village- in both good and bad ways.

This goes very well with an MC who hasn't seen much of the world besides her village, so when she sees something new about the world- the reader can often get that same sense of wonder I feel, especially since the novel is written in first person which was a good choice I feel. And also- the MC's personality is generally kind, so seeing how the world may potentially shift her morals seems interesting and has already happened a bit actually.

Writing Style:

This time around, like I mentioned Manga decided to write the story in first person- which is neat to see. Again I think this fits well especially with the MC since we can see her thoughts on the world around her, since she's pretty well a fish out of water here... hah.

Anyways- the grammar is actually pretty decent here, there's some issues but it's definitely not too blaring in my eyes, so Manga's improved there I'd say for those who have read his other works.

Conclusion:

Overall- this novel combines both whacky and darker tones quite nicely in a way that makes it feel unique to me, and uniqueness is definitely something I like in stories so that's a plus to me at least.

While the Nekosuki series is clearly just starting off now, based on the hints of the main plot for the next while to come- I can sense that this story may end up getting really good as even more of the world is explored as well as the power systems that are in play. And of course the villains who have been hinted at too who do seem like quite the threats.

So in conclusion- I'd recommend giving the novel a shot! Even if you're worried about potentially not liking it for whatever reason due to it just getting started, the volume is actually pretty small so there isn't much to lose.

Thanks for reading! If you want me to put this in the comment section of Nekosuki Manga let me know, but do remember I already put a smaller review there too.

Anyways, my next review might be Globe Tracers volume 6 due to it coming out soon but we'll have to see.

See you next time!