Random Curiosity

Let's be frank, my friends. I read the first chapter of Ben-to, and I didn't like it. The setting is completely bizarre; the "hero" is an asshole; supporting characters are weird; and the story gets repetitive. But did I give up? No, for I am one of mankind's great readers. I struggled on, never letting go of Hope. If you persevere, God will reward your efforts.

Here's the deal: this series is all about people who fight (punching-kicking-biting) to be one of the last standing, in order to claim a half-priced box lunch at the local supermarket. I mean it, that's really the setting for Ben-to (which is a bit of a pun on bento, the true depth of which still eludes me).

 
One of the biggest hazards of getting into light novels is the addiction to buying more and more books. As evidence I present the above picture, which displays the contents of a box that just arrived from Amazon Japan today. You can click it for an enormous version, if you're trying get a closer look on the titles. The reason I use Amazon is that they keep nearly everything in stock, have ridiculously quick delivery (3 days!), and the items arrive at your doorstep. Considering I live across the globe (Sweden, to be more specific), this is rather convenient. The downside is that I have to pay an added 50% in shipping charges, but there aren't too many alternatives over here. A less problematic downside, but annoying nonetheless, is that their title browsing system is born of pure evil. I managed to buy mixed editions of Nishio Ishin's Zaregoto series, because it maliciously kept shoving the right title in my face, but hiding that they were all different sizes! It's similarly irritating when you try to buy 85 volumes of Hajime no Ippo manga, as a festival of clickage delight. Oh, woe is me.

I had planned to write up a review for Ben-to v01 today, but it turns out I'm quite high on painkillers after a wisdom tooth extraction (not as fun as they have you believe), so I can't focus on writing coherent sentences and making myself look like the triple-digit IQ man I truly am.

In any case, the photo should provide you with an idea of what will be coming up over the next few, er, years of blog posts.