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So Much Potential for the Story, but Barely Explored in This Volume
Entertainment: I had high hopes after reading the prologue, which finally brought up the Demon Queen again, a character briefly mentioned at the start of Volume 1. I thought we’d finally get more information about her, expanding the story’s depth, but sadly, that excitement was short-lived. The volume is divided into three distinct sections, and while each part starts with a promising premise, it quickly veers into mundane, overly detailed descriptions of daily life without diving into any truly engaging plot points.
In the first section, Eizo and his group finally acquire an animal to help transport their forged goods to town. However, the entire chapter goes into meticulous detail about constructing a suspension system for the transport cart, which felt unnecessary. The second section introduces a new client at Eizo’s forge, a demon, which seemed like an exciting opportunity to learn more about the demon world. Unfortunately, the chapter focuses almost entirely on the process of forging Nilda’s katana, with very little insight into her or her background. Finally, the third section is perhaps the least disappointing, as it sees Eizo visiting a battlefield to… repair weapons for the soldiers. There is a brief moment of action when Eizo finally engages in combat, which was enjoyable, but this part was all too short.
The short stories after the epilogue were a bit more interesting, as they provided a few new insights into some secondary characters, but they were also very brief.
Language Learning: This volume is noticeably more challenging due to the highly technical terms used when discussing the suspension system and the details of forging the katana. While the vocabulary is precise and technical, it has very limited relevance outside of this specific context, making it less valuable for language learners.
Overall: I was genuinely disappointed with this volume, as I’d had high hopes after Volume 2, which seemed a step up from the first. I’d hoped that, even if the series continued its highly detailed, slow-life approach, we might finally get more insights into the world Eizo has found himself in or further character development. Unfortunately, these aspects were only briefly touched on, with most of the focus devoted to dull, technical details described to the point of overkill.
I’m still holding out hope for the next volume, but this one has definitely cooled my enthusiasm.