I rate their dynamic 10/10, what's your take?

Kazuki Or Maria?

I want to communicate people who love the work, and discussed the topic around it for a long time

I read until vol 3 a year ago but want to restart now. Should i read the manga up to vol 3 or just restart the novel

https://youtu.be/ftl3ZCr_Cn4?si=TIGkvfoASy_XL8tD

and

https://youtu.be/pRqEgjUW4Mc?si=11cpBcXNGLeReUYC

I spent hours trying to find lyrics, but I wasn't able to find anything.

I told chat gpt to roast Hakomari, and I got this. Do yall think it is true? And this is not my idea, I saw a guy doing this on the Shadow Slave sub, so tried this with the stories I have recently read

I have finally finished Hakomari, and I have to say, it was a very great read. Although I had some gripes with the middle part of story, it all disappeared sooner as I got nearer to the end. Halfway thru 6th Vol, it had already solidified as a great read, however Vol 7 just elevated my opinion. For me, it was perfectly elevated. I have a lot of things I want to say, but I can’t find the words for them, It is almost like my thoughts are stuck in my throat.

It would be right to say that I am feeling very empty right now, and I had just finished the book like 10 mins ago. I would have liked the story to be longer, I would have liked to see more of Maria and kazuki’s story, but oh well. I alway try to not catch up to latest release or completing a series, becuz that would mean one less thing to read. Rereading a completed series doesn’t work, when all mysteries and doubts are already cleared, you can’t feel the same anymore. It is to say that it only works on series you have half catched up/finished.

Enough with that, what I am here today is for another thing to read.

Plz tell me anything that is as good as Hakomari. Hakomari is the first light novel I have finished, most of the other light novels just don’t interest me, my first few time I try getting into light novels, it didn’t work out. It might just have those particular books, but I found that the prose styling for the LN were very basic and even bad. Thoughts and actions were described in a few words, it just wasn’t enough, almost like half of the happenings was left to the imagination. I just mostly read original and translated webnovel. I didn’t have much expectation coming into Hakomari, however I still started it since it was a novel recommended in the Tokyo Ghoul sub. Oh well, all I can say is that I was pleasantly surprised to find actual good narration. I am not gonna say much, I just hope you guys can give me some recommendation. I would prefer novels without wish fulfillment harems and all.

“Yeah, we were lovers in a former life. My beloved Hathaway, how it pains me to see you reduced to this. To think the man who came to spirit away a princess of an enemy kingdom such as myself could become such a cretin.” - Maria to Kazuki, vol. 1

"It is I, Hathaway, the one who has sworn to betray everything, to turn all and sundry against him as he stands alone in your defense." - Kazuki to Maria, vol. 1

“You certainly took your time, my beloved Hathaway. How dare you make a maiden such as me, whose only virtue is to faithfully await your arrival by the window, who is so delicate that she has never held anything heavier than a spoon, wait for so long? I never thought in these 27,753 times that I would be thrust into the battlefield alone.” - Maria to Kazuki, vol. 1

Just wanted to know if any OG readers (readers who read the series before the final volume Eng version came out in 2019) are still around in reddit. Pls share your experiences with the Fandom during that time and also your reading experience. Don't forget to mention your source from which you first learnt of this novel from. Any readers who read after 2019 are also welcome to share their experiences with the series if they'd like it.

A question for you guys, are YenPress still printing out new copies of the translated version of Hakomari? Because I see quite a lot of people reading this for the first time. If not, I guess I will at least get a copy of the raw Jp version. The raw version is still printing right?

Also when exactly did Yen Press release Vol 1 and when did it release Vol 7?

Btw, I am working on a small review of the series, it moved me a lot when I completed all 7 books. Ah man I wish I had read this series earlier so that I could have participated in the discussions about the books when they came out. Anyway I am a new member of the sub, how couldnt I after reading such a good story

Is Maria taller than Kazuki or not? I have finished vol 1 and checked out the first illustration of Vol 2 and looks like Maria is taller. So is this true as of Volume 2? And does Kazuki grow taller in subsequent volumes?

1. Brief spoilerless introduction:

It is an extremely good read. The first volume is especially easy to recommend, and is an easy 10/10 (I believe it's like that for most people). The writing style and pacing are unmatched. Like any good mystery, paying attention is greatly rewarded, and crafting theories alongside the story’s progression is a great way to engage with the novel. Each novel (for the most part) tries different ways to experiment with pacing and it never gets dull. Read it. 

2. Full review (with spoilers!!!):

It has been one hour since I finished the 7th volume. It made me cry harder than any book or manga I've ever read and this will forever remain in my memory as one of the best reading experiences I've had.However, I struggle to understand how this is part of the same series as the 6th volume. This might surprise you, and I know most people aren't as bothered by these things as I am, but I cannot get over how flawed (misbegotten, even) a large chunk of this series is. Some of this story is so 1-dimensional, that I think Mikage spent 500000 days in a time loop away from reality, due to how stupidly and poorly the characters and their interactions are often written. It is something that, like the girl crying at the bottom of the happy ocean, that I cannot just ignore and live amidst the false happiness.

Hopefully that was enough to get you riled up to continue reading, instead of jumping to the comments to spit at me. I ask you to suspend judgment and hear me out, because with such masterpieces as Hakomari, it is too often easy to overlook their more than apparent flaws.The first hole in the nonsensical nature of Mikage's characters I noticed was at the end of volume 1, even though it's really a critique that can only be had in hindsight, and not during actual reading, or even not until around 80% through the complete story. Once Mogi's wish and backstory is revealed, it turns out that Mogi had a mad crush on Kazuki, due to him being the only one to realize her false persona. False happiness and deliberate identity changes are noticeable themes even in the first volume. And I thought it was great how this parallel between Mogi and Maria is drawn. While on the surface it may seem a bit extreme for a high schooler to be so obsessed with someone that she would dedicate her one wish to winning him over, it is actually perfectly in line with her circumstances at the time of O's arrival seeing how her reasoning due to all of the chaos and adrenaline would be skewered.

Or so I chose to believe. Because in just the next volume, we see the exact same regurgitated theme. Riko, it turns out, is also someone looking to change her identity. And she is obsessed enough with Mari, that her wish is centered around her.Recycling this theme this way makes it lose its overall value. Especially when it is so similar to how it was used for Mogi; person shuts out emotion > fakes a persona > makes a wish centered around a single person > realizes it's better to be true to oneself.

But alright. The 3rd and 4th volume almost do away with this issue by having Koudai be a more traditional one note villain (nothing wrong with that btw, it's great to occasionally have a character that is just evil for the sake of it and for no other deep reason). Well, the reason I say almost, is because of course there's Yuuri and Iroha here, but their stories are concise and don't overstay their welcome. All in all, the Kingdom Royale arc is great, as we see Maria take a backseat, while Kazuki becomes more independent. Also being further introduced to Daiya was amazing, at this stage he was the best possible opponent to Kazuki, and the game of idleness with the perfect setting to explore his character.

I just really wish his character wasn't ruined by the wish crushing cinema arc... So, I actually really enjoyed volume 5. Seeing the direct aftermath of Kingdom Royale is rather jarring, and it would feel really stupid if everyone just sort of went back to how they were before. Daiya's desires are revealed and they fit with what we know about him. He is also thematically and narratively the perfect opponent for Kazuki. This was at least a bit of a missed opportunity, though, as it would have been interesting to delve into the morality of Kazuki existing to trample on others’ wishes. But alas, everyone's wishes so far had been just easily interpreted as bad, so this analysis of the protagonist’s ethics never came to fruition. Again, a tragically missed opportunity. 

Continuing to volume 6… This is where the entire story falls apart for me and I was struggling to think how Mikage could even unfumble this. Volume 6, being the meat of the wish crushing cinema, also has the most cheap backstory exposition. And it makes everything decent that was built up until now crumble. By the looks of it, Mikage seems to think everyone needs some sort of tragic backstory of abuse. It felt like reading some sort of generic shojo manga, where everyone is traumatized and there’s a bunch of poorly thought out and predictable love triangles and so on… The thing is, this is not exclusive to just volume 6, but volume 6 very much brings it to the forefront. And this is one of those things that is fine in moderation, but the more it’s done, the more value and substance it takes away from the whole. Not just the story moving forward, but everything that’s already happened as well. Now that there’s Mogi, Riko, Rino, Nana, and Kokone, that all share almost the exact same backstory, it just sort of becomes akin to meaningless exposition. I genuinely do want to care about each and every one of these characters, but it’s so hard when they seem so copy-pasted. 

This brings me to another point. Why does Mikage think high schoolers are obsessed with just each other, and with love and so on? Why is there a “Maria Otonashi fan club” at the school? Why does every girl have to fall in love with Kazuki? Hell, why does every character have to fall in love in the first place? Why don’t any characters have any other motives? Does Mikage think this is how real people are? Because none of the characters seem realistic anymore in the face of this delusion. I will never understate how much this ruins the series for me. I cannot look away from this massive flaw, and it’s the biggest reason why I would struggle and be embarrassed to recommend this. 

After essentially nuking any good will Mikage had established with me with the rejected classroom and kingdom royale arcs, I went into volume 7 with low hopes. 

But this guy… This sly dog… He performs a miracle. Through a mixture of head-cannoning and suspending disbelief, I was completely immersed almost instantly. There was also a bit of a fakeout with Aya’s backstory that threw me for a loop, but he made that work by the end as well. I shed so many tears today… This story… It’s beautiful despite its abundance of flaws. I will forever love it. 

Love you, Mikage. Love you, Tetsudo. 

3. Random bits:

Volumes ranked: 7>1>3>4>5>2>6

Fav character: Kazuki <3

Fav line: I sink to the bottom of the sea. This is the second time I'm here. It's an unchanging scene in which everyone seems happy. However, it's just a lie that everyone here is happy. A single person is crying, surrounded by happy people. It's someone who knows that this bliss is just a lie and cannot join them in their laughter. I have heard this person crying before.

MAL rating: 9

Closing thoughts: Kino.

In Pinterest there aren't much arts and tiktok is banned is my country So I don't know where to find arts and edits please someone tell me how to find it

and man, this is definitely the best series I've ever read. Though that probably doesn't mean much, because this is one of the first books that I read voluntarily. Really deserves an anime adaptation imo. I've seen someone rating volumes, so I'll do it as well. I have to go with 7 > 1 > 3 = 4 > 5 = 6 > 2, though I'm not entirely sure. Just to put that into perspective, I still think the 2nd volume is read good. A solid 8.5/10. Though now I'm not sure what to do with life, because I've spent the entire last 2 days just reading this series. I'll definitely look into Eiji Mikage's other books, but if you know any books (mainly light novels) similar to HakoMari, I'd really appreciate some recommendations.

I attempted to revisit the novels for a dose of nostalgia but encountered an issue. It seems that I'm unable to read the novels in ePub format using Aquile Reader. Instead, it only displays nothing on the screen. Could there possibly be an issue with the file itself? Interestingly, when I attempted to open other ePub files, they worked perfectly fine.

This novel is, to me, startlingly mediocre. The reason it is so startling is because everyone seems to love it!

I can't understand why that might be the case. I have read this book twice and written a several thousand-word review on it, but the highest score I could give it was 2/5. I felt that even that was generous considering the novel is basically composed of flaws.

Why do you guys like it so much?

Ehh idk why I am making this post but I feel Kazuki and maria are totally the type to bear hug each other to sleep every night lmao I don't see them doing anything in thaaat direction for at least two years after their wedding idk why(partly cuz they are still kinda young) Again idk why imade this post but I am rpolly coping for lack of hakomari content lmao

I recently finished hakmari and goddamn, boy did I love it. It's probably one of the best things I've ever read, excellent conclusion too haha

I just wanted to ask, does kazuki return to almost normal by the very end(I.e. at the wedding)? Cuz from what I see, it's heavily implied so, cuz he does speak a line normally, which should mean he can probably talk normally too righ? It's probably a stupid af question but still I would like to hear if I am correct

Around 2 weeks ago, I made a post asking if the story was “too edgy.” This post is a follow up to that. I’ll be discussing some plot points, so for anyone reading this who hasn’t finished it, warning for some light spoilers.

Now, the reason I made my original post is because I had seen someone say that the story was full of unnecessary violence, and that “almost every named female character” had been “raped or assaulted” in some capacity. After finishing the story, I can say pretty confidently that this person was a liar. Yes, the story includes violence. Yes, the story includes rape. Are these two topics excessive to the point they take away from the story? In my opinion, no.

While it is certainly true that Hakomari has a lot of violence, I don’t believe any of it is unnecessary. The same goes with the inclusion of rape in the story. Hakomari is a dark novel, and as almost every fan will tell you, the darker side of human nature is a prevalent topic in this story. Yes, there are parts when I felt very uncomfortable while reading, but there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, some of the things humans are capable of will make your stomach churn and your blood boil. That being said, the statement “every named female character gets raped or assaulted” is extremely misleading. Only one character in the story is a victim of rape, and she is a minor character in the story. Yes, the story of the single victim gets brought up multiple times, and it is very uncomfortable, but trying to spin it as if the majority of the female cast gets assaulted or raped is a flat out lie. The rest of the mentions of rape/assault are there mainly to put you on edge and to make you worried for the characters.

Now onto my rating of the series. I’ve been watching anime and reading manga/light novels for about 8 years now, and I’ve only given three series a 10/10. Hakomari is one of them. For one, the cast feels extremely fleshed out and well done. Hakomari has a relatively small cast, which is great to me because it means the author can take adequate time to properly characterize and flesh out each character. And in this case, Mikage does just that. Every character feels well utilized and they all have the perfect amount of depth to them. As leads, Kazuki and Maria are incredible. I won’t go over how I feel about every single side character, but my favorite out of them is Daiya. He’s honestly a phenomenal character. But more on Kazuki and Maria now.

Their relationship/dynamic is extremely touching and very special to me. I love the way they interact with each other throughout the story, and I love the trusting relationship they build over time. If you’re a sucker for the “very obviously in love and act like a couple but don’t actually admit they’re in love to each other’s faces” dynamic, like me, then you’ll love them. To me, the lack of a love confession between them is part of what makes them so special. Their bond is so strong that there’s no need for any type of confession. They know they love each other, to the point that vocalizing it is completely pointless. Out of all the lead couples I’ve seen in fiction, they’re probably my second favorite behind Shirou and Saber from Fate. And that is absolutely saying something, seeing as those two are both in my top 5 favorite characters of all time.

Another reason I give this series a 10/10 is the emotional impact it had on me. Volume 7 had me crying basically any time Maria and Kazuki were even mentioned together. It was an unbelievably good volume.

Finally, I want to talk about the plot a bit. I’d say the characters are this story’s strong point, but the plot is just as good. It is very interesting, it feels unique, and it’s also entertaining. This is just me personally, but I really like the smaller scale the story has. I’m so used to stories with any type of action branching out as time goes on, with the final volume being some big conflict that makes the first volume pale in comparison, but Hakomari retains the charm that the first volume had. Just a story about people, their actions, and their bonds.

So yeah. Those are my thoughts. I’d recommend this story to basically anyone with the capacity to read stories with darker themes/events. I gotta say though, it’s a shame the english version went out of print. I already bought a physical copy of volume 2, but I’d happily collect the whole series if it didn’t cost $300-$600 to do so.

It's been a month since I finished hakomari and the lack of content is hitting me..... It's one of my favorites, I still can't believe I ignored it in my list for 3 years. What a rollercoaster and I hecking love the ending. I wish that one day, we will get a good manga and anime adaptation (it's difficult but never impossible)

Been reading v1 recently, saw someone elsewhere talking about the series having cheap violence and tons of rape. Not a big fan of that sort of stuff.

What do you guys think? Is it worth continuing for someone like me? I’m fine with gore and killing and whatnot, but this person seemed to stress that rape was a major factor here for no particular purpose, which is a huge turnoff for me.

I have a full set that I put together several years ago, I wish this wasn't the case because it's impossible to get your hands on the whole series now, without turning to ebooks which aren't everyone's cup of tea

I hear this was his best novel written, please share!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EoMCLf4Wcn8hfG9DF4_1bfMwGfBjvnxZeC78gCzoKbc/edit