Gender Change Turned Into A Silver Haired Women In Another World

My two cents: Chapter 7 writing improved dramatically. Sharper dialogue and more vivid descriptions of scenes. I wonder if the author has suddenly “hit his stride” or if someone else is suddenly contributing to the writing. Perhaps, it is a collaboration that started with one writer and has recently been influenced by a writer friend who is more technically sound. These kinds of style changes occur frequently in online serials because the author receives feedback immediately and the writer adapts to that feedback as he writes. The author is not a fixed entity. Rather, he is a process.

For me the pacing of the story is by far the most notable feature. The plot takes its time to progress to each new stage of our protagonist’s decline, allowing the reader to fully feel the full extent of her losses. Time jumps are rarely used, instead we get to witness her health and sanity slowly but surely erode away. It makes for a powerful and disturbing read, yet at the same time it’s a work of art, and how much of that is mere titillation as opposed to valuable insight into human suffering I’m not sure. But for me it was a switch from ‘tragic’ to ‘suffering gratuitously’ about halfway through.

Note that for completionists, the ending of The Memories of Glass follows the main novel by several thousand words with the side story epilogue to be published on the author’s Patreon in the near future. The main story concludes with the end of the time loop and a time skip to show Rosalind in her new, peaceful life. The Patreon epilogue, ‘Glimmers’, is a series of very short scenes and follows how fragments of Rosalind’s memories from her previous resets have surfaced in the dreams of the other characters from time to time. Cedric will hear a song from his past in his dreams for example, or Elara will somehow manage to bake a pastry that she’s never learned how to make before but that Rosalind used to love in another time stream.

It’s not a full-length continuation, but beautiful and includes all the various leftover fragments and effects from the worlds that Rosalind lost. This will actually really add to the story’s closure without it feeling somewhat abrupt, as it is. I’ve also included a link to a bonus comic strip (non-canon, just a little joy for everyone) that artist did for the two main characters having a picnic; it’s absolutely adorable and, to me, the perfect little coda to this drama.

A fairly straight-forward shoujo with a twist is ‘Mizutama Honey Boy’. The heroine is tall, sporty and a bit messy, whilst the hero is short, cute and delicate. He’s into baking, sewing and generally anything ‘cute’. They live together under a honey-boy type of arrangement where he looks after her and cooks for her, etc. He’s essentially the ‘wife’.

There’s a big difference between her (a rough-around-the-edges, breadwinning part-timer) and him (a domesticated, husband-like cohabitee who’s into baking, sewing, etc). Most of the comedy comes from his inversion of expectations as a male, but he’s not trying to be anything other than himself and she appreciates his appreciation of her, as well as her appreciation of his strengths without any qualms about her lack of femininity. It’s a cute, low-stakes story.

This is also really apparent when looking at an author’s career as a whole, and how they may develop certain themes throughout their work. Hiro Mashida is known for his early work ‘Seikon no Qwaser’, a very fan service orientated series with many questionable storylines, but his later work ‘The Ancient Magus’ Bride’ features a young and very powerful female protagonist, Chise Hatori, who is also central to the story and in a supernatural relationship with a non-human entity. The power dynamics are often very complex and often very wrong, but throughout the series Chise’s agency does grow substantially.

Another example of a creator who develops characters in all stages of life, regardless of gender, is Kiyohiko Azuma. His ‘Azumanga Daioh’ series portrayed the daily lives of a group of high school girls, while ‘Yotsuba&!’ looks at the life of a 5-year-old girl who isadopted by a 27-year-old man. Looking at the work of an author over time can be far more telling than judging them on the basis of a single work. Sometimes the ‘top’ authors are those who are growing, who are testing out the limits of earlier themes and completing them in innovative new ways, with an even deeper understanding of their characters than before.

Note that this is not a Shonen Jump title. This is an extremely grim, adult oriented story published in an ero-manga site, so naturally the ending is extreme, provocative and does not allow for any type of sentimentalism. The transformation of Saki into a corpse, the ultimate object, is the completion of her dehumanization and thus this is the ‘true ending’ of her story. A harsh commentary on the matter at hand, wrapped up in an extremely exploitative narrative. But within its own boundaries the ending is perfectly consistent and final. There is no sequel, no “what if” side story written by the author. The story says what it wants to say and then ends brutally.

It’s quite interesting to see how a story like this comes to be. I figure the author is probably some Japanese web novelist writing under a pseudonym on ‘Shousetsuka ni Narou’. The English title of this story is a fairly ‘clickbait’ translation of the Japanese, and the author’s handle on the novel-posting site where they originally wrote it is probably something like ‘Kenja no Mado’ or ‘Maou no Deshi’. These writers rank their stories based on average user rating and average page count read by viewers.

' MILF HUNTER' is most likely a mid-ranked novel that didn’t get much attention. A literary B-movie. Written by an author trying to cash in on a trend or simply having fun writing this story. Locating the author would require accessing Japanese online forums and understanding the culture surrounding these websites where novelists post their work. A culture largely inaccessible to the English speaking fan. Thus we’re left with this translated title and a vague sense of its origins.

Has the author made any comment on the matter? Occasionally an author will hint at something in the afterword to a book or on their web-site. Then again sometimes they may discuss the possibility of a voice version on their social media. The only real clue here is if the author is involved in discussions re potential voice artists or is listing the various animation studios that they visit. Otherwise, silence means nothing is happening. It’s a gray area as authors are usually as in the dark as fans regarding any progress on a project until contracts are signed. Even then, they may have dreamed up the thing but be unable to comment on it. The author’s silence on the matter is a bad sign. Being coy or evasive might mean that something is being worked on though.

A related manga work would be the manga adaptation of ‘The Legend of Korra’ after the series has concluded. The adaptation follows the continuation of Korra’s journey, to master the elements and the Avatar State, but also to dominate her own personal demons, such as her past, her self-doubt, as well as politics in a changing era. Korra is eventually able to learn how to dominate, not with brute force, but as a masterful leader and mediator, dealing with the spiritual consequences of her actions. The manga follows a wonderful domination-of-self narrative.

I'm just imagining the pitch meeting for a light novel version of this. "It’s a guy who gets sent to another world. His goal is to…build a harem of older women". *cricket sounds*. Right. Web novel? Sure. Free to write. Light novel? That’s got a business case behind it. So no, I’d count on my hands how many such light novels actually exist, and assuming they keep making more would be silly. The web is where this particular brand of fantasy lives rent-free.