Orc Eroica, Vol. 1 (light novel)

I thought this would be nonsense, like many light novels are. I didn't read the author's name, had I known it was Mushoku Tensei's author I would have expected more at the onset.But, I really enjoyed it. It is well written and well illustrated and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Considering the author and the Illustrator past works I thought this story would be quite heavy, even more with the warning of explicit content but... I found the story pretty tame compared to other LN's/manga I've read before.The story itself is pretty cliché in my opinion, but the background story was pretty interesting and I hope it gets more developed in the future volumes.I give it 4 stars because is not really the best LN I've read but it was still enjoyable. It felt too short though.

This could have been cringy, shocking, or even deserving of a publishing interdiction. Well it is not. Of course the subject is a very serious one but the author gives it the perspective it needs.Rape is included in a cultural mindset. This gives the story overall a lighter feel and lets in other subjects. This is much more about cultural differences than it is about rape.But foremost, the main character doesn't abide by that cultural way of doing things. Even though he is not doing it just because it has become illegal, some hints let you understand how deep rooted a cultural belief hammered in since infancy can be. And even though this is just the first volume, he seems to be understanding how awful rape is little by little.What makes it definitively the best way you can spin a story around this delicate subject is that even though all that allows the author to brush off the cringiness of the subject, rape is brought back very voluntarily into the story. Not too directly to make it disgusting or a roundabout way to show it anyway but sufficiently to remind the reader of its horrendousness.Well that should cover it for those who fear that rape makes this book a no-go.As for why I enjoyed it, well the way cultural differences (not just about rape) are written about gave me something to think about, which gives depth to the story and the world it's set in. Other than that it's just a story about a warrior in a fantasy setting who sets off to find love and travels the world. And that was nice.

Trigger Warning FirstOrcs in this story are like bigger versions of goblins in Goblin Slayer in that they have no females so the reproduce almost exclusively through rape.Yeah Magonote doesn't go through lengthy descriptions of the assaults but the MC, Bash, laments that he was so busy fighting he never had time to rape anyone during the 5 millennia war that raged until peace was achieved.Part of the peace treaty was the end of Orcs raping women but to appease them and prevent them from going extinct a clause was added that female prisoners would be "volunteered" into being broodmaids to the Orcs. Yeah super disturbing especially if you know anything about how Japan conducted itself during world war 2. To the authors credit he brings up how horrific this is for women through one of the key female characters whose beloved elder sister had her soul and mind destroyed after being captured during the war.Now if you can stomach the whole rape aspect you have a nearly funny story about the greatest orc warrior trying to lose his virginity without being outed as a virgin in his homeland. I tried my best but there's so much cringe. I don't know if I can stomach another volume but otherwise we get the standard fish out of water comedy here.

This was a pleasant surprise. In a way that it breaks my usual isekai reading material.Alright characters, bit of world building, MC has a clear focused goal/mission, bit of action, and the epilogue left a craving for more of this orc’s adventures.I don’t see much flaws or anything that bugged me regarding the story or writing. A little misleading including elf girl on cover and character profiles because she doesn’t appear until the epilogue.It was an enjoyable read. Will look forward to 2nd volume.Recommend if you’re looking for a non-human protagonist in a fantasy setting with a mix of action, comedy, and adventure. Sadly, it seems there’s a total of 2 volumes for the series. Vol 2 released in December of 2020 (cdjapan). Let’s hope if this series gets a bit more popular, a 3rd volume might get published!