Tag Archives: Light Novel

The Observation Deck: In the Land of Leadale

April 3, 2022 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

Advertisements

“Hey guys, did you hear about the new anime that just got announced ‘I Woke Up in Another World as a Rake in Autumn?!'”

For as stupid as the landscape of light novel to anime production has become over the past few years, it is not as if it is all bad. After all, with every dime, a dozen video game fantasy stories comes a genuinely great piece of art. If waiting through five seasons of In Another World With My Smartphone means we also get a Violet Evergarden or a Spice and Wolf, I am more than happy to wait.

Still, despite its fairly common-looking presentation, I had at least some hope for In the Land of Leadale. Its focus on a character who was stuck in the hospital and only had video games as an escape, while not particularly original, did at least set itself up for some more introspective moments. However, while Cayna is certainly wide awake in this new version of Leadale, ready to discover its mysteries, the series itself is, unfortunately, sound asleep.

Advertisements

Video Game Fantasy World, Yay…

At this point, my gold standard for isekai-like fantasy worlds is No Game No Life. Maybe that is a little unfair because their stories are not trying to accomplish the same things, but I am making it anyway. The reason being: regardless of your feelings on its story and characters, No Game No Life‘s aesthetic contributes to building an identity that is fundamentally its own. Disboard is not just a setting, but a core aspect of the series.

This is not me asking every series to reinvent aspects of the genre or anything. However, there are a lot of elements of Leadale’s world that just feel boring. The towns are fantasy towns, the weapons are fantasy weapons. With the exception of the towers belonging to the various missing players, there is not much that separates Leadale in this regard.

Ok, but Good Story?

Leadale‘s story is definitely one of its better qualities, though I would probably stop short of calling it good. Cayna, now imbued with the powers of her avatar, begins exploring the world to figure out what exactly has happened. Along the way, she meets her in-game children she apparently forgot about, along with a crew of mercenaries and various figures from the magical academy in Felskeilo.

Much of Cayna’s adventure in this regard is fine, albeit a little dull. She goes to the guild, gets a quest, completes the quest, rinse and repeat. As she completes these quests, however, she finds more and more towers belonging to the missing players, getting special rings from the guardians of these towers. It is not well-explained what will happen when she manages to collect all of them, but it does at least give the series a through-line which keeps it somewhat engaging.

I think the best compliment I can give Leadale‘s narrative overall is that it feels a lot like watching someone play an MMORPG. Which, in the right context, can actually be a lot of fun. However, the series does little to clarify its overall plot, which means that context for enjoyment is absent.

That, and the fact that the series had one of the most powerful moments I have seen in a while. After adopting a young girl named Luka on one of her last quests and building a house in the countryside, Cayna sits on her back porch watching her and Lytt play in the flowers. At that moment, she reflects on the journey she has had thus far, contrasting it with the life she lived in the hospital and all of the things she has been able to do since coming to Leadale. It is a scene that serves as a reminder of how much potential In the Land of Leadale had that sadly got thrown away.

The Non-Ending

“Read the Manga” Endings, or in this case “Read the Light Novel,” have been fairly common in anime since the genre became popular. This is because anime is often used as a promotion for its source material counterparts. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this from an art perspective, it hurts even more since it feels as though the anime was only just picking up steam.

Before I get preempted in the comments, I will say this. I know it is hard for studios to commit to longer-running series because it often doubles their production costs. Not to mention, longer series often mean more crunch time for already overworked and underpaid animators and staff. Regardless, the show definitely could have benefited from an additional 12 episodes, given how much source material there already is.

Advertisements

Conclusion

I honestly feel a bit bad picking on the series like I have. Lord knows there are plenty of other isekai tail riders that deserve it a lot more, but while I did not expect much from them, to begin with, In the Land of Leadale seemed like it might be different. Sadly, aside from a few good moments, this was not the case. It is a fine series, but I cannot recommend it as something people need to watch.

58/100

How did you all feel about In the Land of Leadale? Let me know in the comments.

If you are interested in reading more from me, check under blog to read my most recent stuff, or look below for some related posts. Also, if you would like to support Animated Observations, consider donating on Ko-fi or through paypal, or pledging on Patreon. You can even support by just liking and sharing this post.

As always, thanks especially to our Patron Jenn for being absolutely amazing.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

Advertisements

Anime/Manga, Initial Results

So I Started Watching Toradora! Again…

February 17, 2021 Jack Scheibelein 3 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

Being as ill-prepared as a I usually am, I kind of totally forgot about Valentine’s Day until literally the day before. Because of that, I did not actually have any kind of holiday related post planned, so think of this as my extremely late and now totally irrelevant Valentine’s day post. Yeah? Cool.

So, I was like really in my feels right-

Sorry, my inner gen Z just came out, anyway,

Man, I was feelin down bad-

Sorry, happened again.

Not being in an active relationship makes Valentine’s Day a little awkward for a lot of people. After all, what are you even celebrating at that point? Personally, I spent the day hanging with a couple of friends and then meeting a few co-workers at their house for some drinks and games. But, I also have the habit of thinking about things that bother me for way to long, and of watching re-watching shows that end up matching my mood. I hope you can see where I am going with this…

Advertisements

So yeah, I started re-watching “Toradora” and, well…its alright. I also have the tendency to make a lot of conclusions about shows before I get to the end of them. Granted, it is a little different because I am vaguely aware of what happens, but the last time I watched the show was the middle of high school…there are a lot of things I am still missing.

This is more or less going to end up as a “first impressions” type of post, so lets just go good and then bad. For starters, the animation is a lot more fluid in certain scenes than I remember. Slice of life/Romance anime tend to get chewed out the least for sub-par animation because the storytelling often does not require it outside a couple of really important scenes. However, shows like “Kaguya-Sama” are definitely upping the anti in that respect, even if the romance in that series is not the primary component.

Still, for what it is, the series does really well. There are definitely a lot of movement heavy scenes even in the first couple of episodes, and the quality stays fairly consistent throughout.

The show also has a solid, albeit fairly unimpressive soundtrack. While there are not any tracks that stand out in particular, the moments where the soundtrack needs to be present it is there, and sounds fairly good all things considered. The first opening song, “Pre-Parade,” performed by the three main female voice actresses, is also a catchy bit of j-pop that helps to sell the idea that its main characters, Taiga and Ryuuji, are both calm and collected but also both a total mess. At least musically that is what it sounds like.

Actually, hold on let me read the lyrics…ok well its actually more about Taiga, but the general idea still stands.

Since I had originally watched the series before there was a dub, or at least before I knew about it, I decided to give the English version a try and…maybe I should have just re-watched it in Japanese.

Ok, ok, that is a little harsh. After all, Cassandra Lee Morris honestly does an amazing job portraying Taiga as the feisty asshole she is, and also appropriately gives her voice the more high pitched tone you might associate with her stature. As for everyone else, well, they did fine. Since I am not as familiar with dubs as I used to be, its hard to gauge any of the actors performances against their other ones. That is, aside from Johnny Yong Bosch, who sounds pretty average all things considered.

Its hard to say what exactly my feelings are on the show, but it feels safe to make the statement that my overall view of the show, at least for now, has gone down slightly. Whether its the high school mellow-drama or the really odd story choices, I am unsure of. However, if I do decide to finish the series, I will be sure to give a more detailed summation.

How do you all feel about “Toradora?” Let me know in the comments. Also, fellow bloggers Moya and NegativePrimes finished an extensive write up of the series around the middle of last year, one that I plan on reading relatively soon. So, if you’re looking for more in-depth analysis, be sure give that a read as well.

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

Uncategorized

No Game No Life Volume 4: A Secret Horse Race Conquered(SPOILERS)

July 3, 2018 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

Its been a while since I managed to finish a volume of a light novel. Most of the time I get too distracted by scrolling through Twitter or Facebook to be bothered to open my Bookwalker app and read the things that I paid real human currency for, but yeah, that’s just me. Having said that, however, now that I have managed to sit down and finally finish the fourth volume of No Game No Life, it is time to continue with my review of the series and to let you all know whether or not it is worth continuing.

Both volume three and the last few episodes of the anime left the series in a bit of a weird place. Having just defeated the Eastern Union in a contest for their respective race pieces, Sora and Shiro now look onward to uniting all 16 races to challenge Tet. In fact, everything seems relatively calm. That is, until Plum, a member of the 12th most powerful race Dhampir, appears asking for help.

Of course, Sora and Shiro are immediately distrustful. I mean, Why wouldn’t they be? They confirmed that the Wearbeasts were cheating in the last game they played, so why wouldn’t any of the other races use tricks to steal away Immanity’s piece. However, after determining that Plum was not lying, they accept her request: to help save both the Dhampirs and the Sirens.

Volume 4 is a definite departure from the series so far, at least in terms of subject matter. Both the Sirens and Dhampirs are races that had previously not been mentioned, but share a unique relationship that makes the plot of the fourth book so interesting. Because of the 10 Commandments rule that all violence be forbidden, the Dhampirs and Sirens were forced to make a contract so that both races could survive. Early on Plum describes the situation as less than ideal for both parties, which becomes important for understanding the plot later on.

The plot overall is definitely solid as well. The best parts of all three of the first books can be found in fourth: Sora and Shiro’s ridiculously convoluted ability to understand the world around them, the excellent world-building that makes our main protagonists conquest that much more interesting, and even Steph, who serves as a sort of representation to many people’s base reaction to many of Sora and Shiro’s insane ideas.

The only real complaint I have about the fourth volume and the series as a whole is that a lot of the show’s philosophical underpinnings have gone unexplored, but I imagine that will probably be resolved at the series’ climax when they finally get the right to challenge Tet to a game. Overall, the series has continued to be an extremely enjoyable read, and I will continue to recommend it even to people who are not fans of the anime.

How do you guys feel about the No Game No Life light novels? Are you excited to read the series? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you want to support the Aniwriter through donations or are just feeling generous, consider buying me a coffee on Ko-Fi. Otherwise, thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

12 Days of Anime 2017, Light Novels

12 Days of Anime #8: This Year in Light Novels (For Me, Anyway)

December 21, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments

Reading is always one of those things that I avoid, even though as a writer I really need to do more of it. I don’t really have a lot of ideas as to what I should read from western authors, so if any of you guys do I would appreciate some, but I do follow a lot of other stories, and this year I read a couple of different light novels that I absolutely loved.

No Game No Life

If you want to see my thoughts on each of the individual novels I’ve read so far, you can go here, but to summarize, No Game No Life is possibly one of the most emotive, emotional investing stories that I’ve ever read. Not only are its world and lore worth putting extra time into, but its characters, despite their oddness, are loveable and relatable in ways that many wouldn’t want to admit. Sure, at times it is definitely convoluted, but that is just part of the appeal.

Spice and Wolf

Admitting that I’ve only read about half of the first volume of Spice and Wolf is kind of embarrassing considering how good it is. The light novel has everything that makes the anime great and more. The conversations between Lawrence and Holo are explored in a bit more detail than in the anime, probably because it is a novel and there is more time for that. It is also interesting to see more of Lawrence’s mental state before he meets Holo, and discovering that he is not that stable, to say the least. Definitely worth a read if you haven’t watched the Spice and Wolf anime.

What light novels did you guys read this year? What western authors would you recommend I read? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Anime/Manga, This Week in Anime

This Week in Anime: 12-7-17

December 8, 2017 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

Hey, Friendos! For this week, there was a lot going on. Announcements for new video games, End of the year lists, and some disappointing updates. Enjoy!

This Week’s links:

The Best Selling Manga of 2017

The Best Selling Light Novel of 2017

Hunter X Hunter is Back!

Batman Ninja!

Yasuhiro Irie’s Kickstarter Fail

Black Clover Game

My Hero Academia Game

What did you guys think of the stories for this week? What are you expecting from the Black Clover and My Hero Academia Games? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Anime/Manga, This Week in Anime

This Week in Anime: 11-30-17/Quicky Update

November 30, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 3 Comments

Hey, Friendos!

So first thing: Update. This was originally going to be a video post because I got a lot of feedback from people telling me that they liked the talk show format, including Chizurue and Visual Joint, so thank you to them for the feedback. The reason that the video post is not happening this week is that between working on other posts and school this week, I’m trying to budget my time well. Also, my phone with the finished product died, and it won’t charge because the charging port won’t work, meaning I have no access to it. So there’s that.

Anyway, here’s this weeks news.

Made in Abyss Confirmed for Season 2

During a Deep in Abyss event done for Made in Abyss fans earlier this week, it was announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. The announcement was made by the producer of Made in Abyss, as well as the main characters’ voice actors. The show’s production company Studio Kinema Citrus has yet to announce an official release date for the show, but it will likely be coming out in 2018.

Goboiano Conducts Poll on Gen Orubuchi Best Works

Gen-urobuchi — Source: Madoka Magica Fandom Wiki

Goboiano released the results of a poll they conducted on Saturday. The poll asked fans in their community to rank the best works of Gen Orubuchi, a famed anime screenwriter, and novelist who was the man behind shows like Phantom: Requiem for a Phantom and Fate/Zero. The results of the poll can be found here.

Bookwalker Releases Top 10 Light Novels of 2017

Digital Manga and light novel bookstore Bookwalker recently released their top ten best selling novels of the year, and there are a few changes from previous year’s list. For the first time in two years, DanMachi is not at the top of the list, and one series has two separate entries in the top ten. You can find the entirety of the top ten here.

Women Faces Lawsuit for Selling Boyfriend’s Anime Collection

※これは冗談ではなく事実です
オタクがコレクションの窃盗被害に遭いました。無断で持ち出され、売られたコレクションは何処まで帰ってくるのか？
そりゃ、コレクション棚に隙間が空いてりゃ盗まれたって気づくよ…#オタクがコレクションの窃盗被害にあう pic.twitter.com/r0JuQqEAtv

— 一介の隠居　20上洛参加 (@wkkazuya) November 24, 2017

Recently, a Twitter user by the handle of @wkkazuyu claimed to be the victim of a robbery by his own girlfriend. A police report detailed the incident. The girlfriend, who had recently been kicked out of her previous living situation, admitted in the report to needing money at the time. She decided to take her boyfriend’s anime collection, worth about 810 U.S. Dollars. The girlfriend took that collection to a local shop and sold it. When the Boyfriend found out, he quickly notified the police. He was able to get the collection back but not before certain limited edition, unopened sets had already been opened. The boyfriend is now suing his girlfriend for damages. It is not known currently how much he is seeking.

What did you guys think of this week’s stories? What’s your favorite Gen Orubuchi work? What Light Novels have you been reading? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for Reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Light Novels

No Game No Life Light Novel Volume 3 Review: Just Getting Better

October 23, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments

If you have read my previous reviews before, then you will know that No Game No Life is not only one of the most well-produced anime, but also that its original source material is of high quality. In fact, it’s fair to say that the No Game No life anime is a near perfect translation of the first three light novels, with the last four episodes being a particularly entertaining spectacle.

All of this is to say that the third volume of No Game No Life was a well-written conclusion to the tension that was slowly building between Elkia and the Eastern-Union. In this volume, Sora and Shiro have the herculean task of taking on the “kingdom of cute-animal girls” with only the knowledge they acquired from the writings of the previous king, Stephanie’s grandfather. During the last volume, the crew found out that all of the king’s games that to Sora, at first, seemed like hopeless attempts to win back land and that he was foolish for even trying. However, after looking at the specific areas that the king bet, and finding his information on the Eastern-Union’s game, Sora realized that the king’s hopeless endeavors were actually strategic planning for the next ruler of Elkia.

Armed with the previous king’s knowledge and Sora and Shiro’s ironclad confidence, the unbeatable duo blank challenge and defeat Izuna, the Eastern-Union’s representative in Elkia, in a four-on-one match with the fate of Immanity on the line for Blank, for all of the Eastern-Union’s continental territory and whatever lay upon it. This bet under the covenant just also happened to anything that lay on top of said continental territory, including Eastern Union citizens.

While No Game No Life’s story is one of its better elements, it would be nothing without its hilariously overpowered and loveable main duo. Sora and Shiro remain the show’s main attraction, and while they are not always the most relatable of characters, still exude the quality of good characters. Sora remains the eccentric pervert whose love of his little sister exceeds even his concern for himself, and Shiro is as always the calm and cool eleven-year-old who brings his brother’s deluded fantasies down to earth. The two always work well together as characters, and this volume was no exception.

During the battle with Eastern-Union, it became unclear as to whether or not Sora and Shiro, along with Jibril and Steph, could actually beat Izuna, with her heightened senses and superior physical ability. But, just as Sora had done with Shiro in his battle against Chlammy, Shiro put all of her faith in her brother to trust her in order to grab a come from behind win from Izuna.

I did find it unfortunate, though, that we didn’t learn any more of Shiro and Sora’s past, only things that had already been implied like that the two could barely stand to be outside back in Japan. It feels like a real missed opportunity from a writing perspective to leave out more details about their past, especially considering its importance to who they are as characters.

Either way, Volume three continued and improved on the No Game No Life series. It’s a wonderful addition to the story and only makes me look forward to the next volume. Considering the next volume has story that was not in the anime, I am even more eager to start it. If you haven’t read No Game No Life, do it, because it is absolutely worth your time.

Light Novels

Review- No Game No Life Volume 2: Blank, the Masters of Gaming(SPOILERS)

September 19, 2017 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

No Game No Life has, without a doubt, been one of the most fascinating adventures that I have been taken on ever. A world in which there is no conflict, no war, no physical pain, and it is all being taken over by an 18-year-old virgin and his 11-year-old sister. In their previous world, they were known as “Blank,” and the two have never lost a game, no matter what it is. Now, slowly conquering the entirety of Disboard, Sora and Shiro are on their way to challenging God.

The second volume picks up right where the first ends when Sora and Shiro have become the joint ruler of Elkia, the last kingdom of the Immanity race. At this point, the writing is still fantastic. Yuu Kamiya’s story has started extremely strong and her characters are both hilarious and relatable.

Sora and Shiro have, so far, been largely defined by being opposites of each other, and therefore have strength in being together. Sora is defined by his ability to read other people. He knows when someone is lying, like how he is able to tell that warebeasts can’t actually read minds just by Inu’s reaction to his accusation in the Elkian Embassy. Shiro, on the other hand, is much more like a sponge, using her near-photographic memory to absorb all the possibilities in a given game, like when she plays chest and is able to map out her moves based on the situation at hand. While they may share much of a personality, the way they approach the games that they play makes them work well as a pair.

It was also good to know that the story of their life in their previous world has not yet been forgotten, as the book also brilliantly hints at the pain they both shared, especially Shiro, in another world. The way Shiro life is described before and after she met sora as being monochromatic and then filled with color really sets up a beautiful ongoing metaphor, although in this case, I feel like it was used to much greater effect in the anime, where the world of Disboard reflects the colorful life they both longed for.

Jibril is also a great addition to the cast, as her lack of emotional understanding of humans leads to some pretty funny comedic bits. It does look like she might be a one trick pony as the story continues, although I can’t be entirely sure.

Steph is, well Steph. I never found her to be the most interesting part of No Game No Life, although I also don’t think she is the worst part of it either. She does become a bit more likable when Sora gets angry at her for how her grandfather handled the kingdom, only to discover that Sora got angry for no reason.

Overall, I can’t stop loving No Game No Life. The second volume got to one of my favorite parts in the anime, the battle with Jibril, and did well setting up the cliffhanger for the arc with Sora’s disappearance. It is still a wonderfully imaginative series that I cannot wait to continue.

Light Novels

Review- No Game No Life Light Novel Volume 1: The Start of a Fantastic Adventure

August 15, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

Despite a lackluster ending, the anime adaptation of No Game No Life has ended up as one of my favorite of all time. Maybe not my top ten, but definitely top twenty. It brought to life two of the most interesting main characters I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching. When I started reading the light novels I wasn’t sure what to expect. I thought, “Seems like it’ll be boring just reading what I’ve already watched.” However, I’m happy to say that the light novel proved me wrong in so many ways.

If you have seen the anime, then you already know the basic plot. Brother and sister Sora and Shiro, bored with the shitty game known as reality, one day receive an email from someone who claims to be able to be able to bring them to the world they will enjoy much more than their own. Upon responding to that email, Sora and Shiro find themselves falling out of the sky into a world that looks much different than the one they know. They find as they’re falling through the sky from the god of this new world Tet that their perfect world is right in front of them, known as Disboard. With a brief nap after literally falling into Disboard, the two awake and begin their journey.

One of the things that makes the light novel much more interesting than the anime, as I’ve talked about before in a previous post, is the amount of detail we get about both Sora and Shiro and the world of Disboard. Some of the appeal of No Game No life is lost in the lack of detail that the show presents, leaving out important descriptions about details about Sora and Shiro’s past. As screen time isn’t an issue in a light novel, the book gives a much more vivid description of the world and the reasons that Sora and Shiro are so perfect for Disboard.

Another thing that the book did well was portraying Sora and Shiro amazement of the world. A lot of the appeal of the show comes from the fact that we as the audience know that brother and sister Combo Blank are doing what they are for fun. If they weren’t bored of the world they were in, then they wouldn’t have half-jokingly agreed to come to Disboard. This can be seen in the descriptions of their reactions, with the middle of the first chapter describing a scene in which Sora reads over the rules of the world and then smirks after he reads the tenth rule, which is “Let’s all have fun together.” While Sora and Shiro are competitive, they play games for the reason everyone plays games. The smirk shows that Shiro is enjoying himself.

The only real problem I have with the story is the comedy. The show has a much better sense of comedic timing than the light novel, but I think that has more to do with the fact that reading the joke means that the comedic timing is going to be different for everyone because everyone reads at a different pace. I also don’t blame the light novel for this as much because my sense of grammar and syntax isn’t exactly the best.

The writing overall is fantastic. It’s descriptive, and Yuu Kamiya knows how to write characters that are both eccentric and loveable. If you’ve watched the series but haven’t read the light novel yet, then you should. It will make you fall in love with the world of No Game No Life all over again, and the light novels actually go past the series so the story will finish.

Initial Results, Light Novels

First Impressions: No Game No Life Light Novel: Beauty in the Details(SPOILERS)

August 7, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

My Experience with the No Game No Life anime, aside from the ending, was a very positive one. It was an Isekai show that questions the status quo of its own genre, and it made that questioning really fun, as brother and sister team blank explore the new world that they have discovered. If I had to give one other negative criticism of the show its that The first episode, compared to the first chapter of the lite novel, didn’t give a lot in detail.

What I mean by that is that while the anime did its best to portray the life of Sora and Shiro through visual ques, the light novel does a much better job at explaining outright why it is Sora and Shiro are who they are. Its not that the anime did a bad job setting up the story of Blank, its just that I found a lot more to like in the descriptions of the novel.

For Example, while the show iterates the fact that the two are brilliant at games, it never gets around to connecting there brilliance at these games to there social isolation. The light novel, on the other hand, explains “The brother who had been born no good and so was too good at reading people’s words and motives. The sister who had been born too smart and, because of that and her pure white hair and red eyes had no one ho understood her.” This key detail makes it a lot easier to relate to Sora and Shiro early because we realize that nobody has taken the time to understand them.

Another example comes in the lack of description about there parents. In the anime, we get a quick scene that shows Sora walking along side his parents while they seem to ignore him, and they approach Shiro sitting at a table. Of course, this on the surface would convey the idea that there parents weren’t ever really around really well, but compared to the description in the lite novel, it feels a bit weak. The Light novel states “The siblings who had been abandoned, even by their parents, then left alone in this world, and who finally closed their hearts.” This clearly explains how they both feel about the outside world and why they only play games. They play because they both feel numb, and that no one will ever come for them. They find solace in games the way people find relief in each other. The novel also explains further that they had a past that “not even the most generous of interpretation could recall as happy.” This added detail delivers the idea that Sora and Shiro are lonely much more potently then in the anime

A large swath of detail that got left out of the anime is the idea of conspiracy theories and urban legends are actually just wishes. It further explains that people desire the universe to be filled with order rather than chaos, and that the people who wish for these things can’t except the fact the universe is mostly chaos. This idea fits in with Sora and Shiro’s description of life just being a shitty game because a game has order. The real world is chaos and has no sense of fairness or equality.

Details like these help tie the story together much better at the beginning and allow the story to convey its ideas much quicker then the anime. Again, I am not saying that the anime does a bad job at all, but if you were to ask me who gets more points for presentation, then I would give it to the light novel every time.