Sen no SKILL o Motsu Otoko Isekai de Shoukan Kemono Hajimemashita! - Vol. 8 Ch. 54

[FantasyMaster]

Keep in mind, you're biased because you have the outside perspective. There's pretty good reason given for him to trust her for now...

Spoiler: Two Large image snips from the manga...

So there you have it. This woman has been doing an absolutely phenomenal job of manipulating him. This is textbook brainwashing techniques, only with the shortcut of being able to suppress his memories, so she has no need to break him of his will. She just wiped the slate clean and started writing a new narrative for him.

This is an incredibly competent villain. Juliana's only mistake thus far was to believe she had no need to use her charm magic on Emma. She not only thought that the girl had completely fallen for her, but also that the rift between Emma and Kouta would be insurmountable. Juliana forgot just how pious of a woman Emma is despite her personal foibles, and thus failed to realize that Emma's piety might outweigh her love lust for Juliana.

And quite by accident, Kouta reminded her that disregarding what Juliana was doing was a sin in accordance with her gospel.

Another reason why I don't mind that this has been getting dragged on is because we've also been getting treated to seeing Clara nearly have a complete and total meltdown. It is incredibly rare to see a manga-ka that carefully develops a healthy and loving partnership between two characters like this - a slow-burn romance where they become so emotionally attached to each other that one losing the other nearly destroys them like this.

It is so very human and so very realistic that I can't find it in me to be displeased at all with the slow progress.

And on top of that, we've been splitting time pretty equally between Clara and Juliana, getting all kinds of character development and backstories.

One last thing to keep in mind here. These people do not have telecommunications of any kind. Any word at all still relies on written messages being physically carried. Which is part of why things dragged on. Additionally, they're in pursuit across the globe in sailing ships. Ironically, it probably would have taken this long IRL.

That said, with Emma's confession it looks like we've hit the climax for this story arc, so this is probably gonna wrap this up in the next couple or three chapters.

Well, what you said is right...but in 8 chapters the only "interesting" things, imo, that happened was seeing Clara being at the very bottom of her emotional state and Kota remembering how to use his "god fingers" again. Everything else is dialogues full of crap and Juliana putting her tongue in her servants mouths for the "sake of love".

Mind you, the general idea of this arc is okay....but the executions is kinda meh....i mean, we're literally watching a ship, the sea/ocean and a bitch manipulating everyone on the ship by fear or deep kisses....

And, just to finish with a personal opinion, the whole arc beginning was trash...MC going to meet Juliana one on one when he knows of her twisted personality is dumb and the fact that a random slave collar works on someone blessed by god is 2x dumb

 

[Nitouryu]

Wake me up when we are over the Namek kidnapping arc.

 

[BlackAeronaut]

Well, what you said is right...but in 8 chapters the only "interesting" things, imo, that happened was seeing Clara being at the very bottom of her emotional state and Kota remembering how to use his "god fingers" again. Everything else is dialogues full of crap and Juliana putting her tongue in her servants mouths for the "sake of love".

Mind you, the general idea of this arc is okay....but the executions is kinda meh....i mean, we're literally watching a ship, the sea/ocean and a bitch manipulating everyone on the ship by fear or deep kisses....

And, just to finish with a personal opinion, the whole arc beginning was trash...MC going to meet Juliana one on one when he knows of her twisted personality is dumb and the fact that a random slave collar works on someone blessed by god is 2x dumb

Regarding him going to meet Juliana, go back and reread Chapter 46. He didn't knowingly walk into the lion's den. Juliana used Emma to trick Kouta into meeting her again. Granted, there were a lot of warning signs, but Kouta felt that he had nothing to worry about because Emma was such a devout follower of her faith.

Additionally, he already knows how to counteract Juliana's charm, as well as a poison immunity.

As for the collar...

This is something that is probably made by the Church itself, and intended specifically to work on "Summoned Beasts".

Which is, technically, what Kouta is.

---

Now that I've cleared that up, back to the story itself...

This is a story arc that is focused on character development. Action isn't the centerpiece. It's all going to be flashbacks and dialogue.

A lot of the fanfic I've done in the past was all character drive, not plot driven. (Not that there wasn't a plot, just that the development of the characters is what drove the plot.) My stuff was mostly dialogue with only a few fight scenes, but people loved it because of not only the drama, but also because of how I made the characters seem like real people - filling in the gaps in their original; characterizations and making them as "animated" as possible.

I can understand that this isn't exactly some people's cup of tea. They much prefer something like James Patterson's Maximum Ride series.

It's important to understand what your interests are, and that stories that are not dedicated action/thrillers are going to have story arcs like these at least once or twice.

 

[Magicmist]

Emma is really reaching a breaking point in her internal strife. Better Kouta finds out now then later.

 

[FantasyMaster]

Regarding him going to meet Juliana, go back and reread Chapter 46. He didn't knowingly walk into the lion's den. Juliana used Emma to trick Kouta into meeting her again. Granted, there were a lot of warning signs, but Kouta felt that he had nothing to worry about because Emma was such a devout follower of her faith.

Additionally, he already knows how to counteract Juliana's charm, as well as a poison immunity.

As for the collar...

This is something that is probably made by the Church itself, and intended specifically to work on "Summoned Beasts".

Which is, technically, what Kouta is.

---

Now that I've cleared that up, back to the story itself...

This is a story arc that is focused on character development. Action isn't the centerpiece. It's all going to be flashbacks and dialogue.

A lot of the fanfic I've done in the past was all character drive, not plot driven. (Not that there wasn't a plot, just that the development of the characters is what drove the plot.) My stuff was mostly dialogue with only a few fight scenes, but people loved it because of not only the drama, but also because of how I made the characters seem like real people - filling in the gaps in their original; characterizations and making them as "animated" as possible.

I can understand that this isn't exactly some people's cup of tea. They much prefer something like James Patterson's Maximum Ride series.

It's important to understand what your interests are, and that stories that are not dedicated action/thrillers are going to have story arcs like these at least once or twice.

Whatever you say man. In the end, we have our view on this and they go in different direction...not a problem
But allow me to just give my opinion on some things you pointed out:
so first, no, i don't want to go reread because i personally don't like stupid drama (and this, for me at least, is stupid drama).
second, iirc, he got put out with with sleeping pills or something in the tea, so so much for nothing to worry....but, i don't remember, so correct me if i'm wrong
third, I don't think Kota is a "normal" summoned beast: aside from being a human (maybe it doesn't matter, but since they're summoned "beasts", i believe usually they're animals....at this point, IMO, that's not a training collar but a slave collar....which is common trope in stories with similar settings), Kota actually interacted with god and is given a skill every time he gets summoned, which i don't think happens for every summoned beast.....you can correct me if I'm wrong or ignore if you think it's irrilevant

Now, I never said I wanted action....rather, I always tought this was a nice romance story with some "otherworldly" moments, so forgive me if it hurts my butt seeing a nasty character that already had enough screen time getting more and doing whatever she wants and ruining it for me.
I'm not saying this won't be character development, but you said "go back to chapter 46", so it's almost 10 chapter or even more that this arc started and I'm going to say again that the only 3 scenes we got that differ from Juliana spewing nonsense to get what she wants from every character is Clara almost breaking down and the planning for the rescue, Kota saving the kobold(?)/demihuman and Clara's group roaming the same port Juliana is (and I'll add here my personal opinion that Clara's group didn't put 2-3 peoples on the docks just because....but i guess that's just me being an outside reader)

Now, fr fr, I think we both expressed our points, we understand that they differ, I think we can move on and leave this behind as a friendly discussion. I, personally, am out.

 

[wilddeath]

Well, what you said is right...but in 8 chapters the only "interesting" things, imo, that happened was seeing Clara being at the very bottom of her emotional state and Kota remembering how to use his "god fingers" again. Everything else is dialogues full of crap and Juliana putting her tongue in her servants mouths for the "sake of love".

Mind you, the general idea of this arc is okay....but the executions is kinda meh....i mean, we're literally watching a ship, the sea/ocean and a bitch manipulating everyone on the ship by fear or deep kisses....

And, just to finish with a personal opinion, the whole arc beginning was trash...MC going to meet Juliana one on one when he knows of her twisted personality is dumb and the fact that a random slave collar works on someone blessed by god is 2x dumb

He's a summoned beast before a blessed being. The collar, a divine artifact i remind you, was designed to work on summoned beasts.

 

[Mist221322]

thanks for the chapter, but man i can't wait until he gets back to normal

 

[Greymatter222]

I have a feeling this is gonna go on for a while. They went west where the beastmen friends went. Is it just me or does it seem like ultimately they will be key in resolving this.

 

[YoraeRasante]

It's been 8 chapters and these guys are treating it like it's been running for 8 years

more like 8 months. Since it is a monthly release
which is not 8 years, but it is still more than half of one. The latest chapter, the one that starts the end of this, makes it a full three-fourths.

And considering that it is not an enjoyable slice of life or mid-action, instead just filler to probably give the reader the feeling of how the rest of the main cast is feeling...
While artistically it is not bad, as a reader it was to the point I almost groaned as I opened the chapter and it was still this arc.

Probably will be better for those just reading it all after, but when reading as it updates it is just annoying.

A lot of the fanfic I've done in the past was all character drive, not plot driven. (Not that there wasn't a plot, just that the development of the characters is what drove the plot.) My stuff was mostly dialogue with only a few fight scenes, but people loved it because of not only the drama, but also because of how I made the characters seem like real people - filling in the gaps in their original; characterizations and making them as "animated" as possible.

There is a huge difference in there, though. Well, more than one, but still hinges on this:

A fanfic's chapter is as huge as the author wishes them to be. And the release time is as fast as the author can do.
A manga has a limited number of pages per chapter, and a scheduled update timing. In this case, monthly.

I have no doubt your character driven fanfics would get a lot more complaints if you only made a short update a month like we are getting here.
While a slow burn story is not bad, it is only when there is enough of interest in other areas to keep the reader's interest. For example, in a slow-burn love story there is usually interaction between the characters outside the romance.
This arc... does not. With how long it is being without much happening for much of it, the small scenes that should be appreciated are hurt by the annoyance of the rest.

Thinking about it, this arc reminds me of a famous book. No, really.
It is just like when I read Moby Dick, because of how famous it is.
It is not a small book, but I perservered.
I hated Moby Dick. Spent some months without reading anything for fun.
It is like this arc, really. Some action here and there, but most of it is just... really boring. I heard it is a way for the author to give the reader the feeling of how it really is when sailing on those ships.

I can appreciate both this arc and Moby Dick as an art experiment. But not as a compeling read.

On a separate issue, where do you post your fanfics, and under which name?
I know AO3 has a better tagging and... posting system, and reviewing too, plus has more allowances thanks to the tags and allowing more explicit content, but in my opinion ff.net is more comfortable for reading. And I still can't get used to AO3's filtering system.
Plus, while easy to not appreciate, the covers on ff.net do help draw attention.

 

[Dwarfy2k]

more like 8 months. Since it is a monthly release
which is not 8 years, but it is still more than half of one. The latest chapter, the one that starts the end of this, makes it a full three-fourths.

And considering that it is not an enjoyable slice of life or mid-action, instead just filler to probably give the reader the feeling of how the rest of the main cast is feeling...
While artistically it is not bad, as a reader it was to the point I almost groaned as I opened the chapter and it was still this arc.

Probably will be better for those just reading it all after, but when reading as it updates it is just annoying.


There is a huge difference in there, though. Well, more than one, but still hinges on this:

A fanfic's chapter is as huge as the author wishes them to be. And the release time is as fast as the author can do.
A manga has a limited number of pages per chapter, and a scheduled update timing. In this case, monthly.

I have no doubt your character driven fanfics would get a lot more complaints if you only made a short update a month like we are getting here.
While a slow burn story is not bad, it is only when there is enough of interest in other areas to keep the reader's interest. For example, in a slow-burn love story there is usually interaction between the characters outside the romance.
This arc... does not. With how long it is being without much happening for much of it, the small scenes that should be appreciated are hurt by the annoyance of the rest.

Thinking about it, this arc reminds me of a famous book. No, really.
It is just like when I read Moby Dick, because of how famous it is.
It is not a small book, but I perservered.
I hated Moby Dick. Spent some months without reading anything for fun.
It is like this arc, really. Some action here and there, but most of it is just... really boring. I heard it is a way for the author to give the reader the feeling of how it really is when sailing on those ships.

I can appreciate both this arc and Moby Dick as an art experiment. But not as a compeling read.

On a separate issue, where do you post your fanfics, and under which name?
I know AO3 has a better tagging and... posting system, and reviewing too, plus has more allowances thanks to the tags and allowing more explicit content, but in my opinion ff.net is more comfortable for reading. And I still can't get used to AO3's filtering system.
Plus, while easy to not appreciate, the covers on ff.net do help draw attention.

Yeah the problem is in 8 months this "arc" has repeated at least 3 times, it could easily have been a 3-4 chapters overall without all this wheel spin bullshite. It barely even has any character development outside of fanatic girl who gets the absolute minimal amount of foreshadowing to her betrayal of the antagonist.

 

[1234muse]

SIC

an excellent analysis and an excellent examination, my hat goes off to you
doesn't make me hate her any less, but I definitely agree with you that this manga is down to earth and has excellent characterization. note here, this is a "real yandere" and that's not something you want, that means she's a litteral psychopath, and we know she's a serial killer. careful what you wish for. either way, she's screwed though, and we have a solid basis for the story going forward(IE MC and FL knitting their lives back together, removing the collar is probably a shortcut as you mentioned before, but if he has any memory of this period it's going to be a majorly traumatizing event. ) I knew this manga had chops, but I never realized it would go this deep into it. I'll be looking forward to the next chapters

 

[dementati]

This manga is great and this arc is fun. If the release cycle frustrates you, just put it on hold for a while and come back when there's a bunch of new chapters that you can read all at once, it doesn't feel as slow that way.

 

[Coldlight]

While I still feel this arc is terrible (for my enjoyment) reading some other perspectives on it have helped me see it in another light.

I hated seeing Clara on the brink of collapse, but I am relieved that she did not give up with the help of her and Kouta's many friends; maybe this arc can let her shine even more as a character, I certainly do hope she gets center stage rescuing Kouta, because she's the one who stands to lose the most if they fail here. I'm still frustrated though at how Kouta is effectively a damsel-in-distress unable to do anything to help his situation, even though I understand this is because of his amnesia and Juliana's constant effort at gaslighting him.

While Emma will probably cause the unraveling of Juliana's scheme, I don't want to see her redeemed. She still has to be punished for her treachery.

 

[Hibikin]

I thought Emma was charmed, turn out she just pos