[spoilers] I have read all the officially released English translations in the past month. Parano was the best book change my mind
Honestly, i remember not being impressed with the anime when it came out. I had low expectations. I didn't know why i was reading until manato died and the depiction of each character experiencing and adapting to that trauma felt so grounded despite the fantasy elements all around them.
I wanted to know what happened to choco but at the same time, that tease of information, thinking something would pay off that didn't, felt like a shade of what haruhiro must have felt in that moment. The weird pacing; stretches of sameness interspersed with frenetic violence that then becomes mundane that then suddenly has dramatic consequences... All of it combined to feel like what it was- a random teenager thrown into another world with no memory and no idea what to do. I have read hundreds of isekai fantasy novels, and i don't remember another series with a character who truly felt real.
Parano was such a departure and really pushed the fantasy into a dream-like place, and it was fun and unexpected and i cried.
The time skip- ok i was thrown at first, but after i thought for a while i realized after the chaos of the gods being unsealed, this is a great way to explore the true consequences of harus actions+ it's fun seeing the parts of him that have remained the same despite everything that has changed. It seems like undead setora and kuzacko, merry, ranta, and shihorou are all around in some form or another.
Also the chibi monologue inside new manato's head about how she fell to skullhell was so poignant especially with her having virtually no dialogue previously, delving into her inner world was crazy.
After finishing the 22nd and seeing that the 23rd volume comes out soon i hopped on here and was shocked at all the hate on this sub. Obviously a lot is done in translation, so i can't speak to the original work but all in all this series feels like a masterpiece. If anyone can point me towards a series better i will thank you profusely because i need something new to read now.
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