DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ANIME ComedyRokujouma no Shinryakusha!?
MANGA ComedyRokujouma no Shinryakusha!?
SPECIAL ComedyRokujouma no Shinryakusha!? Promotion MOVIE

REVIEWS

• 

  Deoran

  100/100
  Great Read, Currently 30 volumes out. Give it a go and you'll find an enjoyable story and loveable characters

  Type: Light Novel

  Volume Count: 30 (as of 2/02/2019), not finished

  Licensed in English: Yes, (JNovelClub) [Vol 1-18 fully published to buy as an ebook, while Vol 19-30 all available to read on JNovelClub with a subscription, as of writing this review.

  Rating: 10/10

  A preface before the start of this review. This series is currently licensed by JNovelClub in English. It was originally fan-translated by Warris until the end of Volume 22, before he was picked up and hired by JNovelClub. As a result, when that first happened, JNovelClub continued to have him translate the future Volumes, starting from Volume 23, while slowly editing the previous translations for full publication. They have done so up to Vol 19, so 20,21 and 22 can be still read at the site BakaTsuki as far as I am aware, and will stay that way until the JNovelClub versions go up

  Apartment Invaders, or Rokujouma no Shinkryakusha is a weird thing for me. Recently as I have gotten into reading more and more light novels, I funnily find myself watching anime adaptations of them after the fact. Sometimes they are enjoyable, and other times like with ‘In another world with my Smartphone’, they end up being absolutely horrible. Rokujouma no Shinryakusha, or Apartment Invaders in English was one of earliest things that got me into reading light novels though, as I watched the anime, and then was very interested in picking up the light novel because of how it ended. And ever since then, it’s been one great ride, and perhaps my favourite Light Novel series of all time. Apartment Invaders starts off with a rather wacky start. For harem stories, you usually end up introducing the characters and adding them in one by one. As seen by the anime, and the first volume of the light novel though, this does things a little differently, with all of them crashing in right at the beginning, all at each other’s throats, or at least, the first few of the main characters. What ensures is the wacky times as we get to learn more about these characters.

  We have our main character, Satoumi Koutarou, who has just moved into a cheap 6-tatami mat room, only to be rudely dealing with a ghost girl name Sanae Higashihongan who wants him gone. Add that a ditzy, air-headed magical girl crashing through a window called Yurika Nijirio, a mature, refined and smart lady from a group of people who live underground and use spiritual energy, Kiriha Kurano, and a princess named Theiamillis Gre Forthothe and her aide, Ruthkania Nye Pardomshisha, who kindly transferred themselves into the room from their ship, both hailing from the Holy Galatic Forthorthian Empire some 10000 light years away. Thus starts the craziness.

  It seems Room 106 of Corona House just so happens to be a place where multiple things coincide. It is a hub of powerful magical energy, the main exit and a place filled with spiritual energy, thus of importance to the Underground People, and also happens to be the place where Theia needs to bring under her control as part of her test to qualify for the throne of Forthorthe. These seemingly weird and innocuous events all throughout the course of the novel slowly are all connected and tie into one another, though that is for many, many volumes down from the start. Add to that Harumi Sakuraba, the president of the knitting club at Koutarou’s school, another princess from Forthorthe, Clariossa Daora Forthorthe who seems to have a vengeful feeling towards Theia, Aika Maki, a magical girl from an evil organization intent on defeating Yurika, Kenji Matsurajida, Koutarou’s best friend, and finally but not least, Shizuka Kasanagi, the landlady of Corona House, and you have a large cast of colourful and interesting characters.

  On thing this novel does best is how it sets up all the characters and makes you care about theme. It goes in-depth to introducing them, and finding more about them, with at least 2 novels surrounding most of the heroines each. It may come as a surprise to anyone who watched the anime, but that adapted Volume 1-6, and most of 7, and while that may seem like a lot, that’s just the set-up. Literally, it’s the prologue to the main plot-line. Yep, you heard me right, a 7-volume long prologue of sorts. It sets the stage and goes in-depth and in detail into the starting introduced characters, that is, the five invading Corona House, and goes on to give more about the other characters later down the line. In the whole 30 volumes currently published, you see everything from fights and pointless, but fun events, time travel, magic and warfare, both on land and in space, and you’ll be pulled into a large, interconnected story that is very well put together. It creates a vibrant and interesting world for the story to be set in.

  You won’t see times where the heroines fight each other for silly reasons, or berate each other for liking the main character, even through the novel they all start off as enemies, but as time goes on, as they help each other and learn more about one another, by the end of it they become like one large interconnect family, a tight kit group surround Koutarou at the centre. It creates a very nice atmosphere and allows the novel to less focus on romantic squabbles, and more on how past, present and future events define it’s characters. On how they deal with a situation none of them expected. On how events that happen define them, and brings them all closer together. It allows the novel to focus on the main thing, the large interconnecting plot-line and story, and most importantly, the characters. Many of the heroines seem like they would be wildly different in origin, but as you read further and more in, you’ll see all the foreshadowing of future events, and how all these individual plot-lines all in some way loosely relate back to our main character. It has a very interesting way of showing why all these girls ended up near and gravitating to Koutarou, why they all, despite seeming so different, seem to have come to the same place. And the pay-off is quite nice.

  To put it into perspective, Volume 1-7 is basically the prologue, so read those first. Then, Volume 7.5 and 8.5 are next, as they tell an integral story that foreshadows and sets the basis for many future events to occur. Then simple read the remaining volumes, with the odd couple of volumes hashed in-between that are filled with miscellaneous side stories. Following 7.5 and 8.5, Volume 8-13 basically finish what would be the main rising action that leads into the main interconnecting story connecting all the characters that continues past Volume 13. It really is a wonderful read.

  So yes, I would love to go more into detail about the inner workings of the story, but that would be spoilers. But give it a read. It’s a wonderful and well put together story that is not yet finished, with wonderful and loveable characters, a interesting and enjoyable plot, and a very nice ride read. So why not make it your next light novel to read? After all, with 30 volumes currently released, all translated in English, it’s sure to keep you quite busy for a while.

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• 

  Alians

  87/100
  Rokujouma no Shinryakusha is a perfect example of a harem done right!

  It's difficult to find harem literature that consists of characters who are realistically depicted and fall in love with the main character for proper reasons. Love indeed has no bounds but there tend to be underlying reasons behind the infatuation. It has become common for harem-based entertainment to attempt to develop characters and abandon the storyline because of incompetence. Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? is a light novel that strives to achieve more by providing great characters and an amazing storyline.

  The story begins according to the synopsis and starts as a generic harem without outstanding qualities. There seems to be a lack of ideas and is therefore assumed to be uninspired. This brings me to one of the few qualitative issues this work faces. The pacing is slow and takes its time to construct a world with depth and a compelling narrative. It is evident a few times throughout the series that the story needs to be extended and thereby does not offer conclusions when needed.

  On a more positive note, the story is very well constructed and adds reasoning behind actions. Those who have viewed the anime, especially, will conclude that there are plot holes and a lack of explanation regarding events. There are lots of events occurring but the author does not rush to offer explanations but instead adds clues throughout the storyline. Essentially, this light novel is a puzzle, and pieces can be assembled from events that take place to conclude. Many moments strike one as odd but eventually turns into an "aha" moment. It appears frequently and is achieved because of foreshadowing and intelligent writing. Intelligent writing is more subjective than other terms but I believe it is achieved because of loose connections managing to constitute a bigger picture and thereby makes incoherent events sensible. The harem, for example, is made sensible because of the storyline.

  Despite the novel's brilliance, certain issues need to be discerned. It is arguable whether the following are impactful issues because of the substance behind them at times. Many volumes consist of a structure where there is an excellent setup leading to an action segment. At times, this is brilliantly executed and the action scenes utilize the tools provided to build a good action segment. This is not always achieved because the pacing of the action segments tends to be inconsistent and there certain segments that seem to provide redundant information by being too long and offering little information. This aligns with the other issue; deus ex machina. The outcome of a fight in terms of the living party members tend to be predictable and thereby lessens the excitement of the said fight. The author does recognize this issue and tries to salvage it by adding logical explanations for why certain outcomes occur and it does lessen the effect of the deus ex machina trope. On top of that, albeit the action segment being predictable, the overall outcome remains fresh and adds surprises. An action scene is not only comprised of the action but also what it entails, which Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? excels at.

  The characters are the focal point of this light novel and every occurrence is related to them. Most harem related works fail at constructing a harem wherein every character is sensible. Every character ends up becoming likable and has realistic approaches to issues. The characters who grew up in harsh circumstances tend to be able to stand up to threats more efficiently than characters who grew up in a meek environment. The excellence does not end with discernable characters because there is more to them. The pros and cons of the characters make every character equal to an extent. Characters who lack the physical capability to stand up to threats tend to be more intelligent and vice-versa. This is a natural occurrence that reflects reality and logically so. If a person's weak, it is to be assumed the person can spend more time training the brain instead of futile attempts to physically empower oneself above realistic nature.

  There are many ways to have characters that stand out and developing them is one way. I have exclaimed how every character has weaknesses because it is impossible to be perfect. It is, however, possible to work on poor qualities to become a better individual. The characters in this light novel develop a lot and a personal connection is established between all of them. The development our characters receive is realistic and reflects possible mannerisms in reality. Their flaws are improved upon but not diminished, and they retain their identity. The characters receive several arcs revolving around them where they develop by receiving new traits to their personalities and have certain aspects of their pasts exposed. This work does not follow the typical first-person narrative because the narrative seems to revolve around a multitude of characters. This allows the readers to understand the motives behind actions executed by the pro- and antagonists.

  The main character, Satomi Koutarou, has several girls falling for him. It seems to be an unrealistic approach because "what qualities could a character have for an abundance of girls to fall for him"? Initially, there are not many qualities that make him stand out compared to harem leads. During that period, there are not many characters who fall in love with him either. As the story progresses, his positive qualities are displayed and created, leading to a natural course of infatuation. Koutarou is a human with heaps of flaws but also has a lot of positive qualities that make him attractive. Humans tend to be afraid to communicate with seemingly perfect individuals and are more comfortable around individuals who can provide help but also need help themselves. That aspect of reality is excellently conveyed.

  Overall, Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? is an underrated and excellent gem that exceeds the expectations of readers. The story provides many mindblowing twists. It's constructed like a puzzle where every occurring event circles back to the beginning. The characters are excellent and carry flaws but also have many positive traits, making them very likable. The reasoning behind the existing harem is realistic but also has proper reasoning behind it. The interactions between characters can stray from being wholesome to serious. Every prevalent tool is used to improve the story and make it easier to be indulged in the show. It's a ride that filled me a lot of emotions ranging from happiness to sadness. I recommend it to anyone who has the patience to sit through extended periods of reading.

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