So I'm a Spider, So What?, Vol. 5 (light novel) (So I'm a Spider, So What? (light novel))

If I’m being honest, this Volume is definitely toeing the line between being the best of the bunch so far and being the most confusing. I’m honestly wondering how Okina-san will top herself going forward. In this Volume, there is so much going on, it’s almost too much to handle. We see war on two different fronts: the human-demon war happening between Shun and the rest of the human reincarnations, and the war happening between an area our spider has decided to hang around and the city just outside of the labyrinth. Both have some high stakes, and will most definitely will have implications going forward, though I guess the fallout of one of the wars has already been felt?

I say that because since this series has side stories that take place in the future of the world our spider is living in, it’s difficult to determine just exactly when everything will line up. I’m actually really curious as to the motivations of some of the reincarnations and why they decided to side with the Demon Lord. It’ll also be interesting to find out if they actually know Ms. Oka’s (the teacher who’s tried to round up all the reincarnations) secrets. That’s one of the main reasons I’m so eager to keep reading: I want to know how this all plays out. I want to learn more about these characters we also see glimpses of, and I want to get to the point where we are in one timeline, instead of jumping around.

Even with that said that, seeing how much spider-chan has grown, despite being borderline deus-ex machina-esque in a lot of cases, is always a treat to see. I love seeing how her plans almost always seem to work out. It goes to show just how much she’s grown, not only in skills and power, but wits. She’s had to constantly come up with plans, traps and strategies that would allow her to defeat things way above her standing, and even with how strong she’s become, you can never be sure if she’ll make it out of any given situation. I’m eager to see how much stronger she grows, considering she’s already one of the most powerful creatures in this world.

I’m sure it’s going to be a wild ride.

While I really like this series, I found this book to be somewhat lacking compared to the previous ones. The jumps between the many different perspectives of the characters felt more confusing and less interesting than in previous books. Many of the side plots are just outright boring and tedious. There's also some just weird things going on with the main character that just feel extra deus ex.

With all that being said, though, the book is still fairly enjoyable and the ending was better than the beginning. If you liked the previous books in the series, you'll probably like this one, too :)

I can not express how much I dislike the Hero's story...

That said, my distaste for the hero and the teacher weren't enough to stop me from enjoying the spider girls story.

It's more of the same; if you're this far, and can forgive the constant tropes and cliches in the hero's side of the story, then you'll probably like the story.

I just don't personally like where the story seems to be heading at the end. Still, I don't regret buying this book.

This book took me two years to come back to this series. I like the idea of parallel thoughts in light novels and enjoy seeing someone being creative with an old troupe. But this is a troupe I don’t enjoy, characters not talking to each other like normal people do. Why did the MC not sync up with here other selves to get an understanding of why they were doing what they were doing, don’t know! Why don’t any of the “bad guys” tell the hero why they’re fighting the elves, so the story can happen! Why would the MC place “brains” she doesn’t trust into bodies that could potentially be just as strong as her and just not care about a clearly dangerous situation that will surely come back to bite her, because the story needs new arch. And I get that her flaw is social anxiety, but after her promise to live with pride, facing life & death, and literally becoming a dragon slayer, you grow up and have some self confidence.

I really love this style of story telling where you get to see the story from more than one perspective. I also love how well this story is coming together. Can't wait to start the next volume.

For those of you who watched the anime first, or are planning to watch the anime, note this before you proceed. Volume five marks the end of the anime adaptation's first season.

This volume is structured by two separate conflicts. On Komoko's side, the invasion of Kent in the country of Sariella by an alliance of the nation of Ohts and the Word of God Church. On Shun's side, the assault upon the Elf Village by an alliance of the Renexandt Empire, the Demon Army and the Taratect Army. Part of the fun is seeing how the first influences and builds up to the second.

I normally don't like shifting perspective novels, but Okina Baba makes it work. It works because the perspectives are always relevant to every other perspective. They provide information and perspective on the same things.

For Komoko's side, this volume is basically a breather volume. Yes, the Demon Lord Ariel is still chasing her, but Komoko can avoid her with relative ease, and Ariel isn't even actively chasing her for a good chunk of the novel. Instead, Komoko gets to wipe out humanoid bandits easily and without any danger to herself, and be worshipped by a grateful town's population. They place offerings of fruit at the edge of the forest where she's taken up residence. Yes, being worshipped is unsettling for a socially awkward shut-in, but it's much better than constantly fighting for one's life against monsters.

I'll say that again, for the first time, we get to see Komoko doing something other than Survive-by-fleeing-or-fighting. We get to see how her moral compass functions outside of life-and-death situations. It is really interesting. It's not concerned with either charity or selfishness; neither is her motivation. To put it concisely, the reasoning would be "I don't have a reason to /not/ heal the begging sick person. I'll only eat their cancerous organs, not their whole body, because I don't waste food."

I couldn't make it more concise than that. On one hand, Komoko performs miracle-level healing upon a stranger simply because they asked her to. On the other hand, Komoko considers eating said stranger's limbs, and tries to justify it to herself by saying she could regenerate them. So she only eats the sick person's cancerous organs, and then regrew those, because she couldn't heal the organs outright. Do cancerous organs taste good? No, Komoko just has a mental block against leaving fresh meat to rot. It really is interesting to watch these ethical questions roll around in her head.

Now for Shun's side of the story.

Shun's side takes place entirely in the Elf Village. Like the last volume, we see some good character development going on, especially for Anna. I'm going to focus on her in my review because she has focus in the book. Fei has this great perspective chapter that ties her past as a school bully to the haughty behavior of the elves, but it is built on Anna's development.

Anna is a half-elf woman who is basically Shun's surrogate mother. She has served Shun's family for several generations, first as a court mage and then retiring from that role to nurse baby Shun. She was born in the Elf Village, but was cast out for being a half-elf. Elves in this world are supremely arrogant and racist, and so they gave Anna a rough time of things when she was a kid. Not only does this give much character development to her but it also, at the same time, gives much development to the Elf Village and the elven people as a whole. It is world building created through character development that is 100% appropriate to the pacing of the story, supporting the here and now and also something that happens later on.

These conflicts are tied together by numerous factors. The one that I find most interesting is Potimas's involvement in both of them. He is becoming an important character. Indeed, it starting to look like he could be a major villain. In the first volume, he was just "a reincarnation's father". Now I'm thinking he could be the Big Bad of this entire series. That is an impressive development.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "So I'm a Spider So What - light novel volume 5" an A+

For those of you who watched the anime first, or are planning to watch the anime, note this before you proceed. Volume five marks the end of the anime adaptation's first season.

This volume is structured by two separate conflicts. On Komoko's side, the invasion of Kent in the country of Sariella by an alliance of the nation of Ohts and the Word of God Church. On Shun's side, the assault upon the Elf Village by an alliance of the Renexandt Empire, the Demon Army and the Taratect Army. Part of the fun is seeing how the first influences and builds up to the second.

I normally don't like shifting perspective novels, but Okina Baba makes it work. It works because the perspectives are always relevant to every other perspective. They provide information and perspective on the same things.

For Komoko's side, this volume is basically a breather volume. Yes, the Demon Lord Ariel is still chasing her, but Komoko can avoid her with relative ease, and Ariel isn't even actively chasing her for a good chunk of the novel. Instead, Komoko gets to wipe out humanoid bandits easily and without any danger to herself, and be worshipped by a grateful town's population. They place offerings of fruit at the edge of the forest where she's taken up residence. Yes, being worshipped is unsettling for a socially awkward shut-in, but it's much better than constantly fighting for one's life against monsters.

I'll say that again, for the first time, we get to see Komoko doing something other than Survive-by-fleeing-or-fighting. We get to see how her moral compass functions outside of life-and-death situations. It is really interesting. It's not concerned with either charity or selfishness; neither is her motivation. To put it concisely, the reasoning would be "I don't have a reason to /not/ heal the begging sick person. I'll only eat their cancerous organs, not their whole body, because I don't waste food."

I couldn't make it more concise than that. On one hand, Komoko performs miracle-level healing upon a stranger simply because they asked her to. On the other hand, Komoko considers eating said stranger's limbs, and tries to justify it to herself by saying she could regenerate them. So she only eats the sick person's cancerous organs, and then regrew those, because she couldn't heal the organs outright. Do cancerous organs taste good? No, Komoko just has a mental block against leaving fresh meat to rot. It really is interesting to watch these ethical questions roll around in her head.

Now for Shun's side of the story.

Shun's side takes place entirely in the Elf Village. Like the last volume, we see some good character development going on, especially for Anna. I'm going to focus on her in my review because she has focus in the book. Fei has this great perspective chapter that ties her past as a school bully to the haughty behavior of the elves, but it is built on Anna's development.

Anna is a half-elf woman who is basically Shun's surrogate mother. She has served Shun's family for several generations, first as a court mage and then retiring from that role to nurse baby Shun. She was born in the Elf Village, but was cast out for being a half-elf. Elves in this world are supremely arrogant and racist, and so they gave Anna a rough time of things when she was a kid. Not only does this give much character development to her but it also, at the same time, gives much development to the Elf Village and the elven people as a whole. It is world building created through character development that is 100% appropriate to the pacing of the story, supporting the here and now and also something that happens later on.

These conflicts are tied together by numerous factors. The one that I find most interesting is Potimas's involvement in both of them. He is becoming an important character. Indeed, it starting to look like he could be a major villain. In the first volume, he was just "a reincarnation's father". Now I'm thinking he could be the Big Bad of this entire series. That is an impressive development.

Trickster Eric Novels gives "So I'm a Spider So What - light novel volume 5" an A+

Well written novel, it absolutely immersed the reader completely into the story. And you can’t help but love the character dynamics.

I didn’t understand the robot fights environment and shun is an annoying character but I love the show regardless, I live for this series.