LN: Utsuro no Hako, Zero no Maria

[shinta|hikari]

Link

This is by far the best light novel series I have read (and I read Baccano).

It has loads of mystery, great insane characters, a bit of romance, huge but logical twists, and good foreshadowing (something missing in a lot of LNs).

I would like to expound more on what kind of story it is, but that would spoil a lot of the 1st novel (which I find to be the best) so I will refrain from doing so.

Please, if any of you have free time, read this. I am having trouble finding people with whom to discuss this.

[MasterOfMoogles]

Oh, it looks like volume 6 is translated now? Is that the end of it?
I had read up through 5 a while ago, and it was a pretty big cliffhanger.
Is 6 the last one?

These novels are pretty good, but the thing that keeps me from liking them more is that I just don't like the main character, or even Maria, all that much. All the twists are really fun to read, though.

[shinta|hikari]

The last novel is still in the works. Finish the 6th one so we can discuss shit.

The last 2 novels have confused me as to whether I like Kazu or Maria as well. They have changed so much from what I perceived them to be, and that is actually a good thing. I feel conflicted on how I should feel about the characters and the story as a whole, which is far more than I can say for all the stuff I have been reading or watching lately.

[MasterOfMoogles]

Just finished reading Volume 6. It was pretty good.

Kazu's master plan for the end was pretty fantastic.
I still don't really like Maria at all.

[shinta|hikari]

Even I didn't see the twist about the owner of the Cinema box coming. What is great about it is it all made sense, and did not feel like a retcon at all.

I understand your dislike for Maria, especially with how she treats someone who cares so much for her. I am also irritated at how she can call Daiya her comrade and even admires him, while she treats Kazu, who has done far less brutal and inhumane things (IMO he has hardly done anything worth judging him for) like trash. Still, I can forgive her for it because I know it is only happening because of her wish and sin that automatically makes Kazu the enemy for trying to save her.

Is Maria's memory loss permanent? If so, does this mean that this is already the Zeroth Maria? Or is the real Zeroth Maria the one who was not stained by her sin and has not yet received flawed bliss?

[MasterOfMoogles]

It would be funny if Daiya's wish caused another time loop, just like in Mogi's case.

I expect there is going to be some way to get her memory back, but maybe not. Either way, I don't think that would break Kazu's resolve at this point. Even if she doesn't know who he is, he'll still want to free her from the endless cycle.

It was unclear to me whether Flawed Bliss was actually Aya's wish when she died, or if Maria somehow made this wish. Since O is created from the wish, I hope we'll get some kind of explanation for where the initial wish came from.
Even with her memory wiped, Maria is still trying to be Aya, so I don't think this really counts as the Zeroth Maria.

The most interesting character so far has been Daiya, so I hope we'll see more of him in the final volume. I also thought Iroha was pretty interesting in the Game of Idleness and also her role in Daiya's master plan. She didn't do anything in 6, but I wonder if she can recover.

[shinta|hikari]

I really dislike Daiya and Iroha though. They are far too arrogant, yet really weak. They try to aggrandize their goals and themselves, when in truth their true motives are quite pitiful (Daiya's being Kokonoe, and Iroha being power tripping). At least Kazu is honest about his obsession with Maria, and only acts to pursue his goal.

I actually wholeheartedly agree with Daiya's viewpoint about stupid people. It isn't the evil ones who ruin humanity, but the ones who don't even realize what the hell they are doing. I am not even against Daiya's methods, especially if they were necessary to obtain the power he needs to realize his goals. What I do not agree with is his self deception. He tried to become a hero who sacrifices himself for justice, when in truth he just wants his ex.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I don't really "like" them either, but I think they are the more interesting out of the cast, Daiya in particular.
Daiya actually reminds me of Light from Death Note and I feel he is fun to read about in the same anti-hero kind of way that Light is. They both are trying the same approach in a way, but we know it just won't work out in the end.
If you scare someone into being a better person, are they really a better person?