Gangsta.

. . . It can't end there... there has to be a season 2

Ok putting that ending aside i'm going to be completely honest.

When i first saw the art for this show i figured i wouldn't like it...
shows with more realistic proportions and dark and gritty themes tend to get boring and predictable really fast for me... not to mention the amount of drugs and smoking and prostitutes... it's just not the type of show i tend to enjoy.
Still i really am trying to give everything a fair chance... so i started watching it and i was stunned.
First off, the intro song is really good and while not wholly indicative of what the show is going to be like it gets the basic point across.

Second, when the main character Worwick began to speak i knew instantly who it was... It's the first time i've had such a strong sense of recognition towards Junichi Suwabe so that was kind of exciting... i like being able to pick new voices (especially when it's a voice actor that for years i've been trying to recognize)

This, the other character Nicholas spends most of the episode completely silent and the reveal for why was absolutely beautiful. Never have i seen a character who has that trait be treated so well in any medium let alone Anime.

The animation is lovely... the music is Dubsteppy (which i tend to hate but it really works in this) The story is well told and well revealed since a lot of the show focuses on events in the past affecting their current world setup.

That ending was cruel... mostly becuase season 2 hasn't been officially announced yet... i seriously hope it gets announced soon... cause yeah... i yelled when the end credits started...
the ending song is really good too...

So yeah if i had to pick a show that i would be least likely to enjoy it would be this... and it's right up there for being my fav show this season... right along with Snow White with the Red Hair, My LOVE Story!! and Durarara!! X2.2
so yeah i guess my taste is a little all over the place this season...

and i actually think this is the final show i'll end up completing for Sumer 2015... i have dropped quite a few titles (overlord, Ushio and Tora, actually i am, and Rinne) all for pretty much the same reason... really really boring or every episode was just the same thing.
So i think this means i'm not continuing anything into Winter 2015...well other then the stuff thats getting a season 2 after taking a break... Noragami, Haikyuu and Seraph of the end come to mind.

So yeah thank you for putting up with these over the past few days... You can watch Gangsta on Funimation (and i think on Crunchyroll if you not in North America? not entirely sure about that)

Edit: . . . what do you mean Manglobe is bankrupt?
. . . okay so here's hoping bones picks this show up for Season 2.... wow i am so sad about this news.

Wagnaria!!!

And here i was so sure that this would be the conclusion to the whole show... looks like we (eventually) get a 1 hour special....

Um... much Like durarara this is hard to describe...
a group of people who work at a family restaurant do stuff.... it's quite funny and heartwarming and if you don't mind slice of life it's just an enjoyable watch.
But i can't stress this enough... it takes a long time for anything even resembling a plot to happen... i kinda love that about the show but it may be too slow for some.
and i gotta admit... when we do (eventually) get the 1 hour special i'll probably be a little sad... i'm always sad when fun shows end...

so yeah give it a watch, i believe it's all on crunchyroll and NISA has the license to the DVDs of the first two seasons if you want to purchase it.

Charlotte

Imagine suddenly waking up one day to find that you have supernatural powers... do you use it for good? or abuse it for self gain.
Yu Otasaka can take over anyone... but only for 5 seconds... such an incomplete ability only gets used for minor things like Cheating on a test so his crush will like him.
However a small girl, who also has an ability, catches him in the act of cheating and essentially blackmails him into never using his powers again... he also has to help with the student council who are actually a task force for finding others with abilities and stopping them from using it.

I expected this to be right up my alley... i love supernatural setting in current day and it's something Key/Visual Arts has been shown to do really well with Clannad and Kanon.
And i did enjoy it but....
I'm left pondering and thats never a good sign.
i'm pretty sure there are two reasons for this...

1. the show is a little rushed... most of the plot happening in the last few episodes... the last episode alone could have easily been an entire season...

2. Theres a point a little past midpoint in the show where i almost stopped watching. It hit a bit too close to home and after that point all i could feel was Anxiety mixed with utter rage from one line from a character who's face we don't even see.

I don't even know if i like the show cause whenever i think about the overall i focus on that line and how furious i felt.

I want to say i enjoyed most of it... in the end i am willing to bet that Clannad is better in pretty much every way.

But as i said i'm extremely torn because it has it's good moments and it's bad moments... and in the end it should have been 26 episodes... not 13...
he shouldn't have been told a certain plot twist so boldly... he should have figure it out over time... the entire final episode really should have been more focus since things happen at breakneck speed that it becomes entirely exposition.
and it should have worked harder to connect you to the story then doing extreme things seemingly out of nowhere in order to get some tears.
Was it to the point of being manipulative? I'm not entirely sure.... much like Nitroplus Key/Visual Arts runs on peoples sadness...
maybe i just feel like one company is doing a better job of earning those reactions then the other...

that or maybe Clannad really was just their best title and in my mind i still compare everything to it and nothing that they have done since has even remotely measured up.
Well at least they had PA Works do the animation this time... they did a great job.

So yeah sorry that i can't say for sure if I enjoyed it... but i don't think it's bad.... just maybe not as good as some other stuff.

Unrelated side note: Who the hell discards a White Dragon 6 turns from the end when someone is in Richi and no other white dragons have been discarded? he could have discarded it WAY sooner based on what his previous discards were like.... there was no reason to hold onto that, even if he drew it the turn before he should have discarded it then considering what the rest of his hand looked like!

Sorry it just.... bugged me...

Durarara!!x2 Ten

Or as i call it... Durarara!! 2.2

*looks at the plot* you know what? not even going to try...
If you enjoy Non-linear Story Telling go watch all of season one and then enjoy season 2.1 and 2.2 (and in january 2.3)
If you do not like Non-linear story telling watch season one until a pretty major reveal... then continue watching and enjoy season 2.1 and 2.2 (and in January 2.3)

All i will say is that this season had a lot of reaction from me... lots of laughter... lots of yelling out in horror... and lots of grinning from ear to ear.

Great characters, interesting animation and a plot that is both insane and difficult to describe and yet fairly easy to follow... i can't wait till Winter 2016 for the 'conclusion' of season 2.
maybe we will finally find out why Izaya loves humans so much...

Also while you are at it... read the light novel, the one volume currently out in english only follows one specific arc but it adds even more detail then they show managed and it's just an enjoyable read.

However this is not the only show that finishes today... i'm going to make some tea, try and break this low-grade fever and then watch charlotte... saving Working!!! for last since if i know anything about Key/Visual arts.... i'm gunna be a puddle of tears by the end of charlotte.

School-Live!!

Aka Gakkou Gurashi.

My fav thing about this show was when a friend of mine asked. "whats it about" i simply said "watch this episode... no questions till the episode is done"
She live-skyped me through the whole episode and it was glorious.

This is a show where it is ESSENTIAL to go in blind... Easily one of the best takes on the Meo Girls in a Club doing 'stuff' genre.
However it is Nitroplus... those lovely folks that brought us titles like
Aldnoah Zero
Steins;Gate
Gargantia.... *suddenly remembers season 2 got cancelled... has a little cry*
and of course... Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
SO yeah moe high school funtimes + nitroplus = a whole lot of crying.

Now i know the plot has gotten out for this one cause it is fairly unique... still if you haven't heard about it or seen anything go here: http://www.crunchyroll.com/school-live/episode-1-beginning-682347 and after you finish the episode keep a few things in mind.
1. can't stress this enough, Nitroplus run on people's tears...
2. Think about all the characters... and the fact that the show is trying to break your heart

I can't say anymore without major spoilers.

Is it clannad levels of sad? uh... depends on the person and what they can handle.


Is the show for everyone? no... I personally can't stand overly Moe/bubbly crap and they lay it on pretty thick in some places... however even though i Despise the Moe Girls in a Club Genre i really liked this.
Fav of the season? no.. it's really good and I'm glad i watched it but I'll probably never watch it again... it's very much a show based on experience... on that note if they did a season 2 I would watch... i don't think they will.

now I'm going to spend the rest of the night being extremely sad about no Gargantia Season 2....
Like it's been months since they announced it was canned and I'm still pouty about it.
oh well Gargantia will always be able to give me the joy of going "ah... you stopped on ep7" and watching the colour drain from peoples face and then calling them out on why they should watch the rest before basing their opinion on one scene.
Good times....

But yeah if you do know the main plot to School-live!! and haven't watched it... maybe give it a watch later when you have nothing else and just marathon it... it's best to go in blind but you can still go in knowing more then the show wants you to and have a good time.

Well as good a time as Nitroplus will let you.... evil evil wonderful company.

Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing

But i'll probably call it Last Exile 2 or just Fam.

Story time.
I really enjoyed Last exile, so when i came across Last Exile 2 on funimation's website a few years ago i was really excited.
I didn't even make it 5 minutes into the episode... it has a girl in her underwear sleepwalk off a airship for no reason other then cutesy moe crap.
I was heartbroken... those first few minutes spit so hard in the face of everything that was amazing about season 1.
I stopped watching and just forgot it existed.
last Holiday sale season rightstuff had last exile 2 for a good price, i was still unsure but my friend reassured me that it was actually a pretty good show.
Same friend who recommended School days so i took his recommendation with a grain of salt but he mentioned something about liking how the war was handled.
So i gave it a shot... bought it and then put it to the bottom of my rightstuff pile.

Quickly i better describe the plot before i got off on tangents.

Fam and Gizelle are sky pirates, they capture federation airships (skyfish) in a way of asserting their power and stopping the federation from abusing their power.
By chance they come across the Silvius, a mysterious skyfish that is unlike any other in the land... after trying to catch it they end up it's captors and make a deal with the captain Tatiana to capture 1 skyfish for every year Fam has been alive... 
She works diligently towards this goal since it could be a step towards holding another grand race between all the nations. 

I'm leaving out a lot but i found explaining all the different elements to the plot just make it feel like it makes no sense

So now considering i have seen the entire series do i have anything to say?
Yeah.... to the person who decided to have the first 5 minutes be moe crap.... F*ck you
Those first 5 minutes are supposed to hook you and not only is it an insult to the previous season it's also not indicative of how the rest of the show is.
I adored this season, it's really well done... i prefer the style in season 1 but the war element is handled extremely well not to mention that when characters can't communicate because of different languages they are ACTUALLY speaking a different language.

However something did happen in the final episode that changed my overall feeling of the show.

In Season 2 Clause and Lavie are barely seen... once in a clip show episode and at the very end.
I found it a bit strange to not have them as the main characters again but hey... they wanted to do something new...
However in the final episode it's revealed WHY they can't be the main characters this time... and it litterally made me sob.
In that moment of "what did i miss?" i realized something...
I don't even remotely care about Fam or Gizei's story... it has little to no bearing on the plot and they kind of just show up at important events... granted clause had this problem to but they did a better job of explaining it in my opinion.
I loved Clause and Lavie's story... i cared about them personally more then the overall story. Fam is much more about the overall world and story and thats fine but i could feel how much i missed the characters building from season 1.
Not even starting to mention that seeing them like that had a lot of other implications that were simply heartbreaking.

Still even if i didn't care about Fam or Gizei at all i still loved the show, it was nice to see Dio and Alvis' new design was adorable (even if she had no real reason to be there)... I do wish it was about Clause an Lavie... ending with the thing thats revealed in season two... but hey in tend years if they ever did a season 3 maybe it'll be addressed then... they left it as open for a sequel as the first season was....


Side Note i only listened to the dub for about 10 seconds.... a note to directors... never make your voice actors put on fake accents... those 10 seconds were easily the most painful i have heard in a while and you know you would have gotten a better performance out of the talent if they didn't have to do it OR hire people who actually have the accent

So yeah if you get the chance watch ALL of last exile... it's a really good series.

My LOVE Story!!

AKA. Ore Monogatari!!

they better do another season of this... i mean i've been buying the manga so it wont matter too much but this show is just perfection.

I'm going to say this a lot over the next few days... this is one of the best shows this season.
Every week was just a joy to watch and i'm so sad that it's over (hopefully only for now)

The story follows Takeo Gouda, a gentle giant with a heart of gold, and his best friend Sunakawa Makoto. Suna is a pretty boy and every time Takeo falls inlove with a girl (which happens quite often) they always end up confessing to Suna... and they are always rejected.
This circumstance has given Takeo a bit of a complex and he's always a little worried that he will never find love... still Suna is his best friend and nothing will change that.
One day Takeo spots a groper on the train and after saving the girl he instantly falls in love.
Unfortunately Suna, who has never shown any interest in any girl, says "she's a nice girl"

You would think this would lead to an entire season of do they like each other or not drama and no... the confession (which i'm not counting as a spoiler) happens extremely early on. SO the show isn't about "will they start dating" and it's more about "how will a guy who has no self confidence when it comes to being in love deal with simple situations like holding hands, first kisses or 'rivals in love'. It makes for an extremely sweet take on the genre that never got dull.

The show is funny too... i can't even count the amount of times it had me laughing out loud. If i had to pick a fav show of the season this would probably hit number 1... maybe... i mean... durarara.... and working... and even gansta... also snow white and the red hair...
this was just a fantastic season as far as anime goes.

However i haven't even touched on my fav part.
I should start off by saying i don't tend to ever ship characters... i don't know if something is broken in my brain i just never do it... unless it's a canon relationship i don't tend to care about pairing characters up.
That all being said I wouldn't be surprised if down the line it came out that Sunakawa had feelings for Takeo, but knowing Takeo is straight and very much in love with Rinko he just decides to sit back and watch his friend be happy. Wouldn't surprise me in the least... he is the Tomoyo (from cardcaptor sakura) of this series.
Watching Suna laugh and smile and be supportive to Takeo through the entire series... it's just so cute and i want to hug him and have him be happy.

but yeah... love this show... so sad it's done (for now), i need to catch up with the manga.... which means i need to buy another shelf or sell some stuff cause i am out of space.
You can watch it all on Crunchyroll and Sentai has licensed the DVD/Bluray so that should hopefully be out soon... hm... i wonder if they did a dub who they would pick... i gotta think up a perfect cast list for fun.

Ok so i don't think anything else i'm watching finishes till saturday... but unfortunately that still means 3 shows are ending in one day... should be fun.

Snow White with The Red Hair

So i am left with two options... wait 3 months for season 2 to air or get the manga and potentially read ahead...

Well i've never been the best at waiting... but i kind of enjoy going into anime blind... hm....

i'll figure something out.

OK so i want to say that this is my first anime based off snow white but the truth is... it's not... Pretear is also essentially Snow white just with 7 bishonen.
This is snow white in the sense that her name is Shirayuki... and there is a prince...
I love this show, i knew this was gunna be one of my favs this season simply by the title.

Shirayuki is a girl with extremely rare Red hair, she catches the eye of a prince and decides it's better to run away then join his concubine.

As she tries to cross into another territory she has a chance encounter with a boy named Zen who has White hair but no one seems to care about that.

Anyways ends up he's actually the prince of the neighboring country and after stuff happens he helps her cross the border. they become friends and she works hard to become a Court herbalist just so she can stay close to him.

The rest of the series is just adorable and i want more... it's just so good.

Now needless to say if you don't like shoujo this may not be your cup of tea... but it's nice to see characters who do what they want and take no shit from anyone and the falling in love aspect isn't filled with misunderstandings... it's more dealing with the huge gap in their rank and that no one approves and that both are being targeted constantly for different reasons.

It just makes me smile from ear to ear.... other then the fact i have to wait 3 months for another season... i want it now.

So yeah great show, great animation.... music could be better but just a fun time and i look forward to more in 3 months (or more accurately once i get my hands on the manga)

Rokka -Braves of the Six Flowers-

Many years ago there was a demon lord and a goddess.
The demon lord seemed to take pleasure in nothing more then destruction and chaos.
The goddess decided to imbue her power in 6 warriors who would work together to seal the demon lord... however the seal was never perfect and the threat never fully dealt with.
only one thing has been consistant every time...
there are only ever 6 warriors.

Yet this time 7 show up at the promised meeting place.
one must be a fake.
And thats pretty much the plot of the first season, i am positive this will get a season two (cause if it doesn't then that would really leave some major plot threads hanging)

I'm not going to spoil who the 7th brave is... but i did call it... and that makes me really happy. I guess i just enjoy being right... kinda sad i didn't enter the contest crunchy was running to guess which one it was.

but was the show good?
it wasn't bad... the animation varies from being quite nice to being done by novices... the music is pretty fitting and the mystery sticks through till the end... the only reason i guessed right because i thought of it like "who would i make the 7th brave"

I do wish more plot happened... aside from figuring out who the 7th is because theres still this demon lord that needs dealing with and yeah.... also what happens in the final episode was kinda BS... i think it may have been smarter to drop it and just deal with whats ahead.

still it was an enjoyable show and i'm glad i watched it.
It's all on crunchyroll and if you want an fun little fantasy mystery it's worth a watch...
I do see that Pony Canyon licensed it in North america.... well lets just hope they don't pull the same stunt that they pulled with that magical boy anime since this is a very niche title and not many people watched it... i doubt they'll spend 50-70 a disk (with 4 episodes per) so yeah lets hope they wisen up (or they won't and then not sell anything and then stop licensing stuff here, i'd be okay with that)

as for season 2... i hope it's not just a rehash of season 1... but i have a sinking suspicion that's exactly what it's going to be... still as long as i have a chance to be right again... i'll take that risk.

The difference between Difficult and Unfair

I like Ys a lot
too much.

This past week has been incredibly stupid and stressful, so i wanted to play some Ys3 to kind of unwind because it's really fun.
however i beat it on Normal on PSP and Hard on PC... i didn't see the point in replaying it on hard but i didn't have much confidence for tackling it on nightmare.
I do not enjoy difficult games... I like challenge but i hate feeling utterly defeated or having that feeling of wanting to walk away... still i figured maybe this will be the one time i push myself and accomplish something (albeit on an extremely small scale) that i didn't think i could do.
So i started it on nightmare...
and honestly it wasn't going too bad... the bosses were a little faster (though not nearly as quick as their psp counterparts) and had a lot more health and it took longer to level up but i was beating bosses within a few tries... hell to grind for the abandoned mine boss i skipped ahead to the eldern mountain since i knew from past playing experiences that as well as better XP they also drop a lot of money so i could buy better equips.
Slight tangent... this past week i spoke to three completely unrelated people and they all said the same thing and it baffled me.
"wow i'm surprised you did that considering how unfair Ys games are"
Difficult? hell yes... but honestly in all my years (ok i've only been playing since like... 2006  but still) of playing Ys games i have never thought they were unfair (ignoring the time i threw my DS at my bed because of that stupid final boss in Ys 2.... and the time i threw a controller in the trails of Alma because that longjump was bullshit)

I think i understand what they are saying now.
I don't remember having this much trouble with this boss before...
I remember Chester being the "oh wow i don't wanna play anymore" boss of the game (well the final boss is kinda crazy too)
I cannot beat this stupid ice dragon.
I know the pattern, i know how to dodge his attacks (assuming he doesn't hit me with Ice before the battle even starts) I know his weakness but i can't beat it.
Not because i don't have the skill, at least i think i have the skill to beat it... i'm also 3 levels above where i have seen every other guild suggest...
This boss does 50 dmg per hit... and it can hit you many time in a row without you being able to get out of the way... and my health is only like 267... and the only place you can really damage is his head... you have to attack his legs without getting hit (which isn't too hard considering the move you attack him with shields you) but he constantly pushed you back and makes it seemingly impossible to do what needs to be done to beat him,.
I have come close and i just feel my heart break every time i lose because i don't feel like i'm messing up... when i get it it feels unfair damn near every time

This is probably my limit... i may never beat this boss and thats okay... i have beaten this game on hard and that was more then i ever figured... but yeah it's neat knowing what people mean when they say it's unfair... cause in this case yeah it completely is...
but i still love Ys even if i can't beat it on nightmare... it just makes me a little sad that i'm limited this way

Last Exile

Back in the day when Blockbuster still existed i would occasionally rent anime.
One of the titles they had was Last exile... unfortunately they only ever got one volume.
Still i really enjoyed what little i saw...  the art was very different from any other anime i had seen and the design of the air craft was really cool.
Fast forward a year or two... Geneon goes out of buisness in North America leaving titles stranded and and allowing other companies to jack up their price without changing quality because there was one less competitor.
However one year at a Con i used to attend every year when the dollar was at par (oh how i miss those days) there was one vendor selling off packs of Geneon DVDs for dirt cheap.
amoung the pickings was the special complete edition of Last exile (with 'mousepad' and Alvis figure) for 15 dollars.
To this day i don't think i've gotten that good a deal on anything. (well some rightstuff sales have been good but still an amazing buy)
I finally got to watch the whole show and i loved it... the ending felt really rushed but it was just so good otherwise i didn't care.

That was all about 10 years ago... maybe 9.

Last december I see rightstuff is doing there awesome christmas sale (just before our dollar tanked through the floor) and i see the second season of this... now i had watched about 3 mins of it off funimations site but stopped because wow it was so incredibly 'moe' and just... not the same show at all.
However a friend who's opinion i tend to trust (though i take with a grain of salt because he recommended i watch school days.... which i still haven't forgiven him for) who really liked season 2... so i figured why not... i'll buy and watch and i'm sure it'll be fine especially considering how cheap it is.

the catch is that it was one of many purchased shows cause in order to get free shipping to canada you have to spend a rather obscene amount on rightstuff... so because i was already hesitant it got pushed to the bottom of the pile.
About two weeks ago i finished everything else.... (reminded i got this box in December)
however it had been atleast/nearly a decade since i had seen the original show and i couldn't remember everything.

So i rewatched it and it was wonderful... the show is actually better then i remember. I had a hard time sticking to only one episode a night.

The characters are great, the art is lovely.... the animation and CG is a little outdated but considering it was made in 2003 it's pretty impressive.

My only complaint is that the DVD set isn't numbered so if you accidently put them out of order in the box you get the joy of hunting for it...

I'm still hesitant about Fam (season 2) i did watch the first episode in full and yeah... it's not the same show i remember... however i'm going to continue to try to give it a chance... different isn't bad...

I am bummed that they really upped the cute level though... the artist style is so cool and in the new season it's hard to recognize.

Oh.... plot.

Clause and Lavi are vanship pilots who go out on deliveries, it's just the two of them and they are young but they work hard. One day in the middle of a race another Vanship nearly takes them out and after checking everything out to see if the pilot is okay they find a man bleeding. He asks them to take over his delivery. They are handed Alvis Hamilton, a young girl, and told she needs to be brought aboard the Silvana... but it must be done carefully as the Guild, a group of people who control everything down on the ground, is also after her.

Clause does everything to try and keep the girl, as well as Lavi, save while trying to fulfill this 7 star mission

and yeah there is a lot more but it's better if you just watch the show. i'm pretty sure Funimation has released a set since they got the rights after Geneon went poof.

Alright... lets do this.

The Wrath of a Shipless Pirate

(The Godlanders War Book 2)  By Arron Pogue
Full title was just a bit too long.

Anyways i'll start by saying i took forever to finish this, mostly because over the past year or so i have had no time to read.. still i'm going to try and read more every day while i have some time off work so if you have any fantasy novels you want me to give a look let me know.

Also if i spell Corin's name wrong i'm sorry it's just very similar to my cat Corwin's name.

Corin Hughes has obtained the power of dreams from the god Oberon and honestly he only has one thing on his mind. Get revenge on the man who took everything from him and tried to kill him. With help from the nimble fingers he tries to find Ethan Blake's Position. Unfortunately he has gained the attention from some familiar faces who don't know him as well as he knows them. He must evade their capture if he wants to get revenge and fulfill his promise to the sleeping god.

and thats about as spoiler free as i can make that

Despite taking far too long to get through this book i did enjoy it and it was a quick read... i also really like that since the next volume is already out i can jump right into that.

This book does suffer a bit from 'middle book syndrome' and the stakes never feel quite as high as they need to but it's so minor that i wasn't bothered too much by it and it did a great job of setting up the stakes for the next (and possibly final, i'm not entirely sure) volume in the series.
But yeah I always tend to enjoy Aaron Pogues work and i hope theres a new book waiting for me when i finish vol 3.... cause i'm greedy like that. 

Is it Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon vol 3 (light novel)

So... i made the mistake of thinking "ah i'll just read another chapter of this before going to sleep"
These things are really quick reads... so despite only being around then 40% mark i was able to get through it in an hour... and now i have to wait till december.

So, I still really enjoy this series despite it's horrendous title... this volume did have a little more info on the world then the show did but it wasn't quite as informative as the first two volumes.

I was hoping this volume would end around the same point in the show but we have at least 1 (possibly two) more books till we get to that point... which is fine but considering they only come out every few months i just want to get to new content.
... maybe by the time we get new ontent in the books a second season will have been greenlit... that would actually make me pretty happy.

ok time to give a quick synopsis... even though that gets really hard to do once you get a few volumes into these light series.

 Bell Cranel, an adventurer who has been going into the dungeon for about a month, finds himself unable to get anywhere close to his goal no matter how much training he seems to do and must learn what it really means to be an adventurer...

Now having read this immediately after Durarara!! vol 1 I could say for certain that the writing style of Durarara is just really good and reading this which is a bit more bouncy (i'm bad at describing writing styles) was a little tricky cause it felt a little childish.
However i got used to it quick cause it really does show you the mental state of the main character and that makes for a really enjoy and incredibly quick read.

My only gripe is that the author tends to write whatever the monster noises are... once in a while thats fine but for long drawn out battles of "mroo?" and "AHHHH" it gets a little annoying.... at least to me.

Still i'm looking forward to the next arc cause i have a feeling it'll explain something the show completely glossed over.