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LisaMarie1231410
Apr 16, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
Finally after 2 days, I completed all the 7 volumes..
Honestly it was a blast although the light novel itself can be said to be abnormal because no human in the story is normal and the level of abnormality they perceive is on a different level.

The character development is the most fascinating in the series like how a seemingly abnormally normal guy who doesn't want to his everyday life to get corrupted and loves it the most to a next level becomes someone who sits on piles of million of corpses with a scar in his soul just for a girl.

The story at start seems to normally revolve around a normal justice based fight between different entities but later as the story progresses it shows the aim to highlight the attachment between main protagonist and the main female protagonist to abnormally abnormal level if talking like the story.

Many people say that they can do anything for the one they love but this story depicts the same thing and pushes it to its limits. You can understand the depth of the story by simple question.
"Can you go as far as for the one you love to do anything, betray everyone even though it hurts in the heart, can you find the person if he/she doesn't exist, search for 1000s of 'years' and lose yourself, your personality, sanity, everything, you go mad but still repeat the person's name a thousand times to find he/she?"

When I completed the 7 volumes, this question crossed through my head, in reality it is impossible, but the story certainly breaks the concept of reality and madness.

I simply love the fact how attached the mc and f-mc, just because of this fact it is worth reading.

In volume 1- It is the best written volume out of all of them (just based on writing, there is another factor that is counted in novels 'feelings'). The story of this volume is absolutely fabulous, although it goes about it an roundabout approach, when it all clears up, you then realize how much enjoyable and cruel it was, it leaves a huge impact on the reader and makes them realize that the normal looking mc is very different from normal, he is still very kind and gratefully cruel in the 1st volume, but when someone considers himself normal but his perception of normal is very much abnormal, that's what I realized, he is on a different plane that others.

In volume 2- Honestly, it was crap... it felt so bad after reading the amazing 1st volume, but that's just my personal feeling, for many people it may be bad but for many people it may be the best on the story. This volume was just acting as a mini switch that was turned on for the main character, many people don't notice but it is the fact that this volume made a hole in the mc. Well.. it wasn't that bad y'know.

In volume 3:4- Basically both the volumes are cannon fodder for the building of the mc and realization of the f-mc that she can't stay true to her feeling no matter how much she wants and also introduces many characters that have screws loose in their brains, like I hate the fact they act all innocent while are very cunning and shrewd but still want to be saved by the mc but I love the fact that how much other characters beg him to save them, he just doesn't give a crap (not now in the next volumes), these volumes also show and highlight the main weakness between the bond of the main characters but that leads the mc to create an abnormally large and limitless attachment. These volumes basically are meant to make the mc set a goal that seems awfully cruel to other people.

In volume 5:6- These volumes are the ones where things really take a turn for the worst and what can I say, it's fabulous. Finally the mc abandons all his kindness and goes for the aggressive, like hell yeah! these were the most enjoyable chapters. The fact that the mc just uses his best friends and sacrifices them while suppressing his fragile and abnormal heart and just crushes everything in his way, he makes an abnormal resolution to crush everything in his way to fulfill his attachment. I love the fact that the f-mc is crying at heart praying not to cut her attachments to him but her own ideals don't allow her live with her attachments. The point where the mc goes to where whatever he does he can't return is reached.

In the last volume - It's pure madness, just by reading it I thought what was the author thinking, is he abnormal too. It's nothing but madness at first, at the start you will think the mc had gone crazy, he doesn't care for anything except for her dear sweetheart. Slowly as he shreds his own soul and abandons his own being and humanity just to bring he back is so heartwarming but his ways became so cruel that he loses himself but still doesn't forget her. At this point at the middle, every word and line makes you cry a thousand tears at the madness and craziness. Every time I read a line my heart ached a lot, I cried a lot but still you can't stop yourself from reading next lines. But I feel like it lacked the impact for the end but logically it ended at the beginning, the later part was just an epilogue, that again will make you cry as many times he calls her name. ( Her name has lot of meaning).

Lastly, it was a very good read and I recommend it to everyone, I will give it a 10 not based on the story any other matter, I just enjoyed and loved the series so much that I want to give it the best review and rating I could I give.

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lilkraken3
Apr 16, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
I often equate light novels to be at the similar degree of manga—that is, I also regard them to be inseparable in presenting its medium, given that illustrations were provided to support that this is meant to be visualized with a certain art style. I've never been really familiar with them, only having some in my reading list but never getting around to actually read them.

Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria, or HakoMari, has made me appreciate the light novel medium more as a separate being to how manga presents itself, and shows that it can transcend hopes of ever seeing an anime adaptation that will be able to justify its complexity.

Now that formalities have been set in order, it's time to get on the actual reviewing.

HakoMari thrives on its consistency—not just for entertainment value, but through the constant amount of asspulls it does throughout the whole series. I read the first volume without expectations, and what I got was an interesting approach to Groundhog Day, and just by reading how many times the loops had happened you can already see how ridiculous the situation is. It doesn't stop there, as wishes can apparently be granted through the use of so-called "Boxes"—yessir, you heard it right. BOXES. This is when I noticed that this isn't just your average asspull. This is—advanced asspull.

Oh, did I also mention how edgy as shit this can get?

I mean for the first volume with how they reveal the culprit behind Groundhog Day was already way too fucking edgy, but it doesn't stop there as the series makes you bathe in teenage angst (i.e. BULLSHIT) for the rest of the story way until the final volume. One particular character can't keep his edge and that's why he decides to change the world because that's how a normal high school student really acts. But then again, the characters aren't normal to begin with.

You have this one normal guy who slowly turns psychotic because of all the things he has seen until his moral compass becomes way too deranged, you have this mysterious lady with a severe case of identity crisis, you have a white-haired dude who pierced his ears and dyed his hair just because "pfft I dunno" while being a total dick to his ex, you have a totally irrelevant "best friend" that isn't really relevant to the story but the author tries his best to, and you have the aforementioned ex who has gone through I DON'T FUCKING KNOW because all of them have the same common denominator; they all despair. There are also other side characters who seemingly bear the same amount of intellect as these people who can be very cunning and manipulative with wordy outsmarting tactics (that are so fucking unbelievable for their age) but has as much maturity as a three-year old who just had his candy taken away.

You'd think that with these honest yet accurate descriptions of characters, I wouldn't recommend this series at all right?

Well, of course, if I pose up that question, you already know what the answer is.

Much in the similar vein as Death Note and other series that claim to be "psychological warfare," HakoMari works in the similar manner to be appealing—and that is through unbelievable situations mixed in with a serious and close-to-real-life background. Part of the unbelievable situations are the characters, and that's why they may seem as superficial as they can get.

That is what makes HakoMari entertaining.

It doesn't take as much to suspend your disbelief when you start reading this—in contrast to something like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which can be agreed upon that requires an IMMENSE amount of suspension, HakoMari effectively balances its depth as a story while retaining that superficiality—which is like the series was simply made for one to observe it and note how ridiculous everything is, but you keep reading because it has some underlying realism mixed within. It's quite a page-turner because of how fucked up the scenarios are with blood and the stench of angst, the mindgames are very smart that it's hard to predict what will happen with the story. Who will win? How will they do it? It's much more fun to read it without you having any knowledge of who the characters are—because you don't know what their true nature is in the first place, and the author cautiously places Chekov's guns (and gunmen) from start to finish to show that this story has a direction.

With regards to the characters, they aren't as bad as I make them out to be, although there is some degree of truth with my words and how I described them. They aren't really noticeable once you get into the tone of the story overall, and it is with these unbelievable traits that the story gets more interesting. Also, they're anime characters, duh.

If you remove the age and edge though, you get to see these amazingly complex characters. You have Kazuki Hoshino whom at first glance is your average light novel/rom-com MC with his own (psychotic) harem, but eventually grows to be a cunning mastermind at mindgames, paired with Maria Otonashi, who by far is unlike most characters I have ever seen—an antisocial badass chick with a straightforward yet unpredictable personality. And these are just the main characters—I would need a longer page to describe each and every character and their internal conflicts that form the shape and structure of this very series. Each character gets to have their chance in the spotlight and as the story goes on you learn about their motives and how their minds work.

In terms of moods and themes, the very background of Boxes and their abilities to grant wishes are a perfect fit with its characters—it's like they were made exactly to be together. It's as if the series was deconstructing edge with edginess itself, and shows that being too sociopathic/psychopathic destroys your very existence. The themes explored in HakoMari are not in any way positive, and they may even be too mature for the characters themselves. This is probably what a book would look like if Nietzsche decided to write about nihilism at age 15.

Going back to the actual story, I commend Eiji Mikage for properly constructing the purpose of each volume even with huge intervals with its release dates, in such a consistent manner that every book always manages to surpass the previous installment. In the way arcs are presented, they are always executed with proper plot devices that are surprisingly natural. The story, I believe, was structured with:

Volume 1 - An exposition to the characters and the unbelievable nature of the whole series. Filled with interesting twists that get you hooked as the story goes on.
Volume 2 - A further expounding on how creative can Stands—I mean Boxes get. Presents a conflict that questions how Maria and Kazuki trust each other.
Volumes 3 and 4 - An actual arc that pounces on the status quo and shakes its foundations. A great death game arc that imposes emphasis on eventual character development that will become critical in future volumes.
Volume 5 - The status quo crumbles and you become unfamiliar with this human chess game again. The story retains that serious feeling but you know things are only going to get wider in scale from this point on.
Volume 6 - Every belief you had initially is completely destroyed and you become an atheist. The chess game reaches the endgame stage yet it is still unsure who will finally gain the upper hand.
Volume 7 - Everything comes into full circle as the truth behind everything is revealed and the characters come into terms with their internal and external conflicts.

Volume 7 is probably the weakest of the series, in my opinion, but it is the most necessary. It builds on everything the first six volumes had done thus far—a conclusive character resolution arc that is not as half-assed but still needs to be ridiculous. It doesn't have the same flair as the previous books that are filled to the brim with keikakus, but it does have the edge to the extreme and ends it in the most satisfying way possible—giving the characters more backbone in an emotional rollercoaster of an ending.

In no way is this series perfect. The fact that I can rant for about the first half of my review shows it—but it's this impressive creativity that makes it stand out for me. It isn't that easy to write, mind you—more so pulling out things out of your ass in more than one way possible. These ridiculous stalemate scenarios in HakoMari shows the effort in how the author has known how this world will work—and how he can use its preset rules to his advantage. And after all, I did mention how this was quite a page-turner. It invoked feelings of mental pressure to me, the reader, however I could not drop it because this intensity can only be found in such as HakoMari's world-building. It makes you want to know what happens next, and every volume's ending guarantees a continuation that is too relevant to put it aside for even one moment. (I could just imagine how satisfied are the readers who had to put up with that two-year gap between Volume 6 and 7.)

HakoMari isn't certainly one of the best novels out there either—but it executes so damn well how a light novel can function on its own without having so much as to rely on an anime adaptation to justify its quality. It also ends on a mood that may not be as smart as its original premise, but ties everything to a proper and well-deserved conclusion, utilizing everything it had to that point.
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bitsypookums2413
Apr 16, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
As someone who considers themselves an enthusiast when it comes to the Mystery genre, be that in books, anime, or games, this LN's story is among the top and one of the few things I have experienced in general that I would confidently call a Masterpiece. There is a review sharker, that has sharked Code Geass and many other series on various accounts that is pretty high up on the reviews the reviews for the series, but I wouldn't think much into it in comparison to the many who disagree, as well as the LN's record for being consistently Top 10 on the LN list on here for years now, even if lists don't say everything. There is naturally going to be a minority who think a good mystery book's just being difficult "to be difficult" because not all things are clear in the beginning, but it ramps up nicely without dragging along it's pacing, and there are always mysteries around the corner despite that. Some answers are complex and the simple ones that exist are buried within it so there's hardly a difference.

*Story*

One of my favorite things about the series is the way the writer does the order of events and it does not have Chapters, but rather "days". So let's say you just read day 1100 (made up #) and you heavily enjoyed what you've just read. Then deeper into the book the writer may go back to the day before it, day 1099, and suddenly what you read before has an *entirely* different meaning and on top of that this meaning will *make sense*, rather than doing it just for the sake of it. Another cool thing about the writing is, take the first book where the same day repeats over and over. Because of the way the book's written, say you are in this scenario and you start out with a pencil on the right side of your desk every day. Then 100s of days later this pencil is on the opposite side, and it never goes back the same way again. *Nothing* else has changed. A small detail like that will eventually drive you nuts because you'll have no choice but to sit there and go *why* did it happen? How does this relate to the dreadful situation I'm trapped in? And of course this will all go back to *who* is the reason you are there to begin with, as "boxes" are the reason you are there and they are done by a person. They can also only be canceled by the user who granted said wish, or flat out death.


The pacing was also done well and in terms of quality there never a single book that felt like it dipped regardless of the scenario taking place. Each box felt drastically different, and well written to the point where you sympathize heavily with the main characters even if those you don't agree with or don't like. I also really liked how every tag actually made sense. For example it has a "romance" tag but refreshingly enough there was actual, genuine, romance, and this was usually carefully woven into the plot. Not that crap where characters obviously like each other but never ever comes about it and what is done is cute.

*Art*

There is only so few art in each of the books but what is there is good too look at and appears at the moments it should.

*Characters*

Not only does it have incredible, unique characters, but many are also self aware. For example there are characters who you may think have a view and morals that heavily differentiate from your own. However just because that is the case, that doesn't mean they aren't aware and you can "Naruto talk" them into "realizing" it. Many are smart enough to know what you're talking about, they just made a choice for themselves regardless and that's the beauty of it. It's not a world where everyone's wrong for not agreeing with the protagonists, and this is also why many will leave you surprised or sometimes even speechless, but I was never irritated at the *writer* for his choices. In addition even though technically Kazuki and Aya are the main characters, the cast around them feel very important too. You have to understand them like you do the others to understand the book and even the final ending. Character development is also heavily prevalent, characters will fool you if you think any exist to be generic archetypes. I also really, really liked the relationship between Aya and Kazuki throughout the whole book. That shit felt iconic.

*Enjoyment*

Like many reviews state on here, this series is a Masterpiece to me. I want to be able to list something bad or not as good for the sake of it seeming "genuine" but I can't. I literally loved everything about it and I'm really happy I read it. So much so that I'm afraid of the possibility of it getting any anime adaptations. On one hand if pulled off it could be incredible, but on the other if the pacing is rushed or there isn't enough episodes to do it justice, it could be poorly mispresented.

*Overall*

Overall to this day it is my favorite Mystery LN of all time and I think anyone who's looking for a good series that properly balances horror, mystery, and romance elements should pick this up. You'll know by reading the first Volume if it's something you'd enjoy. If you know of the youtuber "The Anime Man" he has actually done a review on it in the past and apparently greatly enjoyed it as well.
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patrat12
Apr 16, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
Thoughts on the First volume:
It was decent.
The story is about a teenage boy named Kazuki Hoshino who goes to school one day to find that a new transfer student named Aya Ontonashi has arrived, who declares war on him. That evening, she is found dead. The main character then discovers that his entire class have been reliving the same day (2nd of March) over and over again 27,000 times. Only Maria and sometimes Kazuki remember and at the end of the day, someone always dies.
The story is morally complex and has very well written and realistic characters, and the psychological taxation of the situation is not ignored. Imagery is well described and the book's true villains are revealed through some genuinely great plot twists. With that said, the book is far from flawless. After the first plot twist is revealed, the book's focus shifts to the necessity of one girl needing to accept her inevitable death in order to end the horror of the Repeating Classroom... The ending of the book ruins this and any tension involved for reasons I won't spoil. The ending also inexplicably undoes the removal of certain characters from existence, ruining all of the tragedy and horror that had been built up and making some of the more horrific deaths seem like pointless edge-fests. Also, while the rest of the characters are really interesting and well written, the main character just isn't. We learn nothing about his life and history or his personality beyond that he has a crush on another character (a girl named Mogi). I honestly think that Mogi herself would have actually been a far better main character due to her history and importance with what was going on, and her mentally unstable personality. Our lead by contrast is just a bland self-insert, and it almost made certain scenes boring.
I also don't understand why the book never even tries to show us how the parents and teachers are affected by the pseudo-time-looping that's going on, since apparently only the classroom and a few nearby areas actually go through the loop. We never even see our main characters interact with their families. Since it's established that time isn't really looping, it also makes no sense that the appropriate amount of time doesn't appear to have passed in the real world after the Repeating Classroom ends.
We also learn nothing about why the mysterious "O" (the true main villain) is so interested in Kazuki or why he put all of the other characters through the horrific events of the novel for so long despite himself getting bored of them. Aya also tells Kazuki a bizarre amount of things that she realistically wouldn't if she actually believed that he was lying, and to make matters worse, her reason for believing that he was lying make no sense:

Basically her goal was to find out who was behind the Repeating Classroom by finding out who remembered her real name from the previous time loop. The problem here is that no villain with a brain would ever tell her her real name in the first place, because that would give away everything. Instead of considering that he might remember for the same reasons she does, she instead assumes that he's a complete moron. This makes her entire plan to reveal her enemy feel incompetent, and counteracts every other attempt to make Aya come across as being ultra-intelligent.

So, overall the book is plot-hole ridden and shamefully edgy but has a lot of intrigue and a well put together mystery with mostly satisfying reveals, with only a few cop-outs. 6/10, recommended.
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Onakatarumi11
Apr 16, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
I've only read two volumes so keep in mind that this will only be a review of these two volumes. Also keep in mind that the only LN I've read are NGNL (upto V6) and kizumonogatari, and I'll try to keep this review spoiler free.
Volume 1:
So you must have watched a lot of TV shows or anime which deal with time loops right? This volume is also that except when you see the genre-Action, Mystery, Drama, Horror, Romance, School, Supernatural, Psychological, Thriller- quite a lot right? but notice no Sci-fi! Now if you've watched the dreaded Endless 8 of Haruhi or watched the numerous time leaps in Steins;Gate, you know what to expect. Except it's like Haruhi's time loop where you are told the story from the PoV of Nagato and she's human and everytime it ends like what happens in Steins;Gate. When you don't even know for how long you must observe the same thing happen again and again, not even sure who you can or cannot trust or why this loop was triggered, how long can you keep your sanity how much longer can you try to break free only to be brought back to the same starting point.
Coming to the narrative, it's a first person account usually from the PoV of our MC, Kazuki Hoshino,a completely ordinary high school student who loves idle chatter with his friends and Umaibous, a Japanese snack and his antagonist Aya Otonashi, who suddenly transfers into his class—for the 13,118th time. She majestically announces to "break" him, without paying heed to anyone else around them. What makes this even more involving is the use of multiple narratives. The time loops are not shown in order but rather in a unordered fashion,i.e., you see the 10000th time before you see the 600th. You slowly learn more about the characters and how our MC struggles to keep himself sane, this is all I can say without giving off spoilers.
Volume 2:
Now there is very little which can be said without giving off the plot entirely but here goes nothing! Just imagine that you go to school just like any other day but unlike other days the people around you treat you very differently and you notice you're missing a section of memory of a particular time, how would you react? What happened to your classmates, does it have some relation with the time loops or a new phenomenon altogether when the only person you can rely on is your antagonist?
What I liked about the second volume is the fact that you can empathize more with the characters unlike in volume 1. Also this volume starts off with a cliched opening but Eiji Mikage pulls it off very naturally
So if you're an avid book reader and a thriller freak this series is definitely for you! There are good fan translations available online, so you can most definitely check them out.
TL;DR:
Pros:
1. Great characters
2. Great plot progression
3. Multiple Narratives
4. Time loop done right!
Cons:
1. It's a novel so no pictures(not that it matters to me)
2.Cliched plot outlines
Rating: 9.5/10(rounded to 10)
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ReaderElaine5
Apr 16, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
I haven't read a lot of different light novels prior to this one, and to be honest when I first begun reading Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria (shortened as Hakomari) I almost wanted to put it on hold after 30 pages. Fortunately, I dismissed this thought and finished reading the first volume.

After that, I found myself unable to stop reading Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria for several days. The story was so thrilling and full of suspense that I just had to know how it would end.

HakoMari is about an ordinary high school student, Kazuki Hoshino, who's life gets completely flipped upside-down as the transfer student Aya Otonashi enters his life, and with her appearance he also comes in contact with a mysterious object called a 'box' that can grant the wish of it's 'owner'. Kazuki must then deal with these 'boxes' and their 'owners' in order to keep his normal, peaceful life as it is.

The story is pretty straightforward. However, this is by no means a bad thing as the various predicaments that the protagonist gets forced into is very interesting and it always leaves you wanting for answers. What is going on? Who is after the protagonist? What does the antagonist want to achieve? How will the protagonist deal with this incident and remain alive?

And that leads me into the next good thing with HakoMari, it's characters. All characters central to the plot are very interesting as they have their own beliefs and acts accordingly. We also get to know more about them as the story progresses, which is mostly a good thing. To not spoil things, let's just say that I could relate to every character except one, who imo entered the uncanny valley, when they got more character development. The worst part of this is that this persons change was intentional and not preventable.

Overall I enjoyed Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria very much. I do have some main gripes with how the story went after a few volumes and with a certain character but in the end I would say that the good things overshadows the bad. I would strongly recommend this novel to someone who wants a book that'll keep them on the edge of their seat.

tl;dr Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria is a mystery novel that has a good and suspenseful story with a strong cast of characters. Definitely give it a read if you have the time to spare.
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BanchoBaby12
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
tl;dr: A story with a lot of well thought out and interesting concepts but generally weak implementations of them.

This series I felt was a mixed bag in that it had some good concepts and some decent highs, but it also had some awful lows.  

The first two arcs, which span a volume each, were a solid introduction to a lot of the characters involved. The tone had some dark aspects but it didn’t feel like it was trying to be that heavy and it had some decent comedy. In terms of characters, relationships, etc. it was pretty solid, wherein the relationship between Kazuki and Maria was only beginning to bloom, but had a really solid start. These arcs also had good concepts in terms of mechanics that were implemented in an interesting and intelligent manner with the goal in both instances was to break the mechanics and escape from them essentially. However, how that was carried out was handled in a pretty weak manner that left me far from impressed, so the psychological aspect didn’t feel as strong as it could have been.

The third arc spans the third to fourth volume. The tone gets a decent amount darker and heavier, but it still feels like it’s well written and there’s still some comedy. Kazuki goes through a large amount of growth in such a way that the relationship arc between him and Maria starts getting interesting. Most of the stories of the new characters introduced feel solid as well. This arc still has the same issue as the previous arcs, in that it has interesting mechanics to the plot line, and unlike the previous arcs it actually spends a good amount of time just using those mechanics in various ways in an interesting fashion. However, like with previous arcs, the ultimate goal is to break the mechanics and escape from them, and just as before how that was handled felt kind of weak.

The fourth arc spans the next two volumes and to put it bluntly I felt it was trash. The tone gets even darker and heavier, but to the point that it starts feeling ridiculous and no longer has any impact. One of the main reasons for that is that the story is equally told from Daiya’s view point in addition to Hoshino’s, and Daiya is a pain to read the thoughts of. I thought he was a pretty interesting and likable character in the first three arcs but that completely fizzled away in this one. He has the cringeworthy type of edginess that just sounds like overtly melodramatic whining to me that really got annoying incredibly quickly. His character arc is in getting over that, but the way it was handled with what was focused on did not work out at all. On top of that he just simply pretty dumb. A core part of this arc is relationship drama involving him and Kokone, and I understand and empathize with Kokone, but Daiya’s actions just make him look awful. In addition, there’s also relationship drama involving Kazuki and Maria, which feels painful and completely pointless, which makes the entire arc even more annoying to read. On top of that, this arc was a battle of wits, but it really wasn’t that great of one with everything involved being incredibly simplistic. Regardless, for some reason this arc involves Hishino and Daiya especially overexplaining everything they do to the point it really feels like things are dragging on. Hence, there wasn’t anything of value to be found in this arc at all but rather it was actually kind of a pain to read. 

The final arc I felt was a decent amount different from the other volumes, in that other than the epilogue it was solely focused on Kazuki and Maria’s relationship. This involves some background for Maria, but it ultimately all leads to what’s important. There is still a plot line with mechanics that have to be overcome, but the way it was presented felt very different, wherein in other arcs it felt like it was trying to be something cleverly put together, here it felt like it was just various things put together in order to push the story where it needed to go, and honestly I felt that worked a lot better as the author wasn’t really able to pull off the more intricate aspects very well in previous arcs. There were some parts that felt like they were dragging on, but largely I felt that this was well told and wrapped things up really well. To do so it minimized a lot of what happened in the fourth arc, which may have been a bit forced but was definitely for the best. The epilogue was also really intensive and I think very well put together with a really optimistic tone, and in the end, I would have to say despite the series having an incredibly awful arc, the ending left me satisfied with the series overall. 

As a random note, the illustrations are bizarre. The first volume has a different illustrator from the rest so I understand the illustrations on those being different from the rest, but the rest have a good amount of variance too. The second volume looks pretty different from the third and fourth. And the fourth look dramatically different from all of those, with the characters suddenly looking like they’re adults in their twenties. The last volume brings back the art style form the third and fourth volumes. 
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Blood_Diver_A8
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
Despite being one of the highest rated novels on MAL, I must say I was pretty disappointed with this work as a whole.

At a first glance, the story appears complex in the ways it's mysteries unfold but in truth it's more convoluted and frustrating than anything. We have magic "boxes" that grant the wishes of people given to them but only to the extent that a person believes their wish can actually be granted. While this concept is interesting, it's rarely used in any sort of relevant way since all of the boxes can generally be divided into those that have real world consequences and those that don't. Overall the rules for boxes are fairly vague and it's often that vagueness that is taken advantage of in order to allow our main protagonists (Maria and Kazuki) to succeed in rather unsatisfying ways most of the time.

Speaking of protagonists, I really didn't like either of them very much. Kazuki has a fairly weak and meager personality and while he does get development it ends up feeling rather sudden and disturbing. Maria, on the other hand, has a more assertive personality and appears very intelligent but seems to fade into the background in most volumes beyond volume 1. I cared far more about the trio of side characters: Daiya, Kokone, and Haruaki and their backgrounds and stories than either of the main protagonists. I honestly would have rather read a story dedicated to just those three and just remove the two main protagonists entirely which is why volumes 5/6 are my most liked. If volume 7 had been remotely as enjoyable I may have been more willing to recommend this series, but, in all honestly, it was a very tangled and disappointing conclusion to the series.

There aren't any really deep or meaningful takeaways I had from this story and it's themes either which was particularly disappointing in a story that involves the granting of wishes from often times misguided humans. Absolutely none of the "antagonists"/box-users were unique in motivation or backstory and felt like rehashes of stereotypical villian backstories that, while sympathitic, are widely overused and cliche.

I don't think "The Zeroeth Maria" is a terrible or even bad story, it's okay, but considering the time and monetary consideration that goes into reading a light novel I would recommend you pass on reading this story.
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giku9311312
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
The actual premise of the story is very simple. It's a story about how the wishes of people can become distorted and how our own lack of belief in our wishes takes shape into something grotesque when in reality our wish was something much more simpler and much more attainable.

The main protagonist Kazuki Hoshino is invested in his daily life of a normal highschool boy when suddenly someone who calls herself Aya Otonashi declares herself Kazuki's enemy which begins the insane yet heart touching story.

The characters are hit or miss. But the growth and development they get makes them very endearing and you feel a sense of fulfillment watching them grow and come to terms with their reality. I'd say they are too smart more often then they are too stupid. Like absolute braniacs and it's hard to keep up with the dialogue sometimes with the things they are able to think of from seemingly mundane and normal places.

With the prose of the story and how it's written you often don't know from which perspective the story is being written in until later on which makes it confusing as you have to re-arrange the actual events that have happened. It's one of my first light novels that I have been reading so it was also confusing to know who was saying what so I'd have to often re-read sections. I'm not sure if that's just a light novel thing or just the way Hakomari was written.

Overall if you're into romance, mindfucks, and psychological thrillers I think you should AT LEAST give volume 1 a try.
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VaskoKasko12
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
I read this novel in a single day. All 7 volumes. That comes to around 1700-1900 pages. It was beyond being worth it. Originally, I was supposed to read Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria, but I've always been putting it off. I thought ''surely this must be a great novel with this ranking, but what if I raise my expectations too high and be disappointed?''. So it was on-hold to read for almost 6 months I believe. Then I decided to read it and I thought that one volume a day is a fair deal of pages per day. How was I mistaken. I couldn't stop myself from reading. This novel has absolutely everything I like: supernatural, psychological battles and a lot of inner and outer monologues, mystery, romance and action. They have all been mixed splendidly with each other. If you're a fan of one these genres, read this, you will be blown off your seat. If you're a fan of all these genres, please make the whole day free to avoid reading at night, because this will become one of your most favorite works from Japan. In one word, this novel is - complete. It has multiple characters with their respective personalities, character development not only of MC (by the way, his character development is one of the best I ever saw), but also of other characters. as you dig deeper into their psyche and past. Packed with complex logical and psychological deductions, as well with a lot of mysteries, it constantly kept me tinkering and mind boggling about what's gonna happen next. The supernatural and sci-fi really go hand in hand in this novel as well. If I had to point a flaw, is that it is damn finished! I really want more of HakoMari. That's all from me, I hope you pick up this novel and start enjoying it.
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Verienkeli5
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
I am not going to rate this story in categories such as: Story, Art, Characters blah blah blah

Just know the story could be shit and this book would still be a 10, in my book. That isn't to say the story isn't executed beautifully, because it is, especially in the first few volumes. The characters are pretty amazing to say the least, though there is an incredible amount of nonsensical decisions and ridiculously over complex moral mumbo jumbo that is better not to think about or your mind would just fizzle. The contorted morals of each character seems to be a big theme of this book, and while some of them make sense, they are all incredibly and annoyingly idealistic, though this does serve to drive the plot so it isn't all bad. All I mean to say is don't try to extract some meaning from this book as far as right and wrong because there really is none.

There aren't spoilers below, but it's best you go into this book knowing nothing, with no preparation. Simply let it take your breath away without getting ready for it. In a few words this is a story of epic love, that will move you in ways you couldn't even imagine. If you must know more, read below, about 100 words of why I love this novel so much.

What this story does have however, and this is the big take away, is love.
At its core this is an "epic" love story, and it will warm your heart in ways you can't even imagine. The simple beginnings, from when Maria and Kazuki first meet, becoming trapped in ______ , is unbelievably charming. The dynamic of these two characters is so so so charming, and it will capture your heart from the first couple pages. This is a story of enduring love, epic love, pushed to its limits in the most ridiculous ways possible in the world Eiji Mikage has created. That is the big take away. I can almost not describe the charm of their romance in words, it is something that really cant be expressed. The feelings that come to mind for me are joy, love, and beauty. Maria and Kazuki are brought together by destiny, and the strings of fate that bind them together work to push them away just the same. The flex, they twist, but they never break, not once. Maria's omplex inner conflict is such a integral part of their love, and is Kazuki's simplicity. Once your done reading this book, you will think back to the first volume with a kind of longing, wishing you could go back to the beginning, to start all over again. This story is of epic, enduring love, destined to repeat itself until the end of time. At least that's how I would have written it, hope I don't spoil anything.
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euniceeloise3
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
First I will let the writing speak for itself, in this spoiler-free passage below:

"“I was convinced that I had grasped your behavioral patterns completely by now. But I couldn’t predict your statement just now at all. Can you imagine how amusing this is for someone accustomed to eternal boredom?” she says, looking delighted."

There's more. For instance, in the opening scenes of this supposedly dark and gritty series, the main heroine reveals her reality-defying power by telling the main character about the color of a girl's panties. It's a cold open, a rolling intro, and a crash into a panty flash.

God and Buddha help me, I read every volume to witness and report on the hundreds of examples of awful dialogue and Light Novel cliches, If your mind can interpret this trainwreck as salvageable, you have an inhumanly forgiving mind that I am unable to comprehend.

I've helped edit literary abortions-in-progress, and have produced terrible work myself. I understand that madness that results in teenage characters using fifty words instead of eight. I sympathize with the stupidity of tacking backstories of abuse onto small children and having one mutter, literally, "murdermurdermurder" in the least subtle possible way of setting up the twist villain of a book. But the humane way to handle those manuscripts is to label them as inherently irrecoverable, and then to euthanize them.

You might think this will be funny, or at the least, a campy and edgy read. This is true for many light novels and web novels. By any faith or philosophy you might hold, trust me, this is not true here. Worse than just bad, the writing is boring. If you are into bad video game mechanics being described in pointless and excruciating detail, you know who you are, and no force in imagination will restrain you from reading this.

If you do not give this writer a single yen, and avoid supporting the paid publication of further work, my work will be done. I've read good postmodern books. I love the genre. You can fly through songs, bodies, and minds. For your own benefit and pleasure, I urge you to choose something better than this. You deserve it.


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animelancer12
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
Finished Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria. What I'm about to write next is not a proper review, however, if you truly wish to know what you may possibly feel after you finish reading this LN then make sure to read it.


It was my first LN that I managed to finish. It's not the first one I read though, I've also read probably 100 manga or so.


I'm saying this because I want to prove a point on my upcoming statement.

I've thrown around a lot of 9's and a lot of 10's when I really enjoyed an anime or a manga, and honestly, I truly felt they were worthy of the 10, after all I really did enjoy them that much, upon starting this LN I just couldn't stop, read all 7 volumes in a mere 2 days, fuk it's 5:23AM as I'm writing this, right after I finished reading. This LN is... a masterpiece... I have only considered Spice and Wolf to be a masterpiece before but honestly, after reading this LN I can safely say that all the 10's I've given so far are a mere 8 compared to what I just read, it's hard enough for me to properly write exactly what I'm feeling.


The mystery, the twists & turns, the despair, the love... All of it was amazing, I don't think I'll ever find something as good as this, MAL says I have spent 120 days of my life just reading & watching anime, that's a massive time sink if you think how long that actually is, it's probably a lot more than that since there's a lot of anime & manga I didn't list yet, I don't know if I'll get to 240 days or even 500 days but I get the feeling that what I've just read is the "epitome" of the happy & in general all kinds of feelings that I could feel by reading & watching anime/manga/LNs.

It's a shame that I finished reading this LN.. If only I had a box that could make grant me the wish to forget all the memories of all the manga & LNs I've read so far just so I could read them again.....



;)
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ArcherKinao11
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
The novel was very captivating. I got absorbed right from the first volume. IT always keeps you guessing answers to questions like "Who is it?" "Why is he/she doing this?" "How could you possibly escape from this situation?" and so on. I know that seems like typical of mystery/thriller genre. But there is a difference. Many anime (I cant speak of many novels/manga as I haven't read that lot) may confuse you but it is rare for me to invest myself thoroughly in a series and put myself in the Protagonist's shoes and think through stuff. Only few have managed to absorb me that much. This is one of them.

The novel is not all about thriller or mystery. It also deals with topics like human nature through its (quite eccentric) characters. While some stay true to their ideals and nature throughout the series like Maria, whereas, others grow out of their comfort-zone like Kazuki. And, this does not happen in a sudden fashion. It happens gradually and beautifully.

Talking about characters, to be honest some are realistic but few like Maria are far from it. Even though I liked her, you see few people like her. But, every character was well written with some level of background and depth. You will come to like some and hate some.

Another reason why I loved the novel -- I am a sucker for romance, and this novel delivered it. It is light at the beginning. But towards the end you have quite intense drama and romance involved.

The last reason would be its ending. This is where most anime I have watched fail. This had a good conclusion. Even to romance. Even though, I wanted more of the novel, I was satisfied with the way it ended.
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KurochuDeviluke8
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
Lots of people seem to only really read the first volume, which kind of disappointing because the first volume alone is really is only keyhole into the true beauty of the series. There are many reason as to why I think this series is my favorite, but to things (relatively) short, I'll just be focusing on the setting.
What I believe makes Utsuro no Hako outstanding is how perfectly the author executes the philosophical complexity of human nature with the environment the characters interact in. What makes this possible is how the author designed the functionality of a plot device called boxes. Boxes in the story allow the user to make any wish perfectly how they perceive it, including their doubt. This sort of concept gives the author the liberty to throw the characters into all sorts of creative scenarios without the reader feeling like the situation is unnatural. What has made many series appealing were their ability create arcs that could each function independently on their own, yet supplement the character development of the main cast in the overarching timeline. Consider a series like One Piece. Many enjoy the series because each arc provide an unique narrative, yet with each arc, you could see the more of the bigger storyline unfold. Same goes for Utsuro no Hako. Every volume or every few volumes will give you a engaging arc, but as you look at the bigger picture, you start to see how each of these arcs ties with the development of Kazuki and Maria.
As for the actual settings, damn are they interesting. Not only do each of them work under a unique concept, the intellectual depth provides you with sense of thrill you rarely get from most series that rely on have action scenes or emotional trama. If you read all 7 volumes, I'm sure you will be able to appreciate the series's ability to drive your emotions and intellect.
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dodex10004
Apr 15, 2021
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria review
"IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS IT HURTS"

Jokes aside, the HakoMari series sways toward the psychological side with very dark themes. If you are not comfortable with concepts such as murder, suicide, rape, abuse, and self-hatred, don't bother reading the light novel. When I say murder, I mean extremes like cutting people up with a chainsaw or grouping people in a building and burning them alive.

Initially, I read a few reviews for the series. I can confidently refute that the concept of Boxes is not vague and with no logic behind it. Sure, the first one or two volumes made me want to drop the light novel immediately, but just keep reading. Explanations are given that make the book clearer and more understandable. You might need to work your head a little to process what is going on though. Otherwise, you might be inclined to drop a one as the rating.

For the story, protagonist Kazuki lives a normal life with his high school friends. As the plot moves on, he can be called anything but normal. His life is changed with phenomena appearing one after another, with the source originating from "Boxes" that grant people the power to work towards their own wishes. The seven volumes focus on the main characters' roles in the anomalies while introducing their backstories.

The art is very unique, especially the intermission covers. The last few volumes were not able to maintain the luster, but all ends well. In regards to the characters, every one of them is explained in great detail. At least enough to where you can sympathize with them. Still, with all the developments and interactions going on, I can't call favorites on one character over another. I am not fond of any one of them with an intense passion neither.

The enjoyment aspect was a different matter altogether. Without the characters, there was still the plot to enjoy. The series had a unique premise and there was a lot of action. So much that there was little comical relief and pause to the events happening. Retaining so much information in so little time doesn't work out well. The confusing parts discourage readers from consuming the material, leading to disinterest.

With all things being said, this series is worth a read. I don't like stories with vague and unexplained phenomena. Trust me, HakoMari contrasts from Seishun Buta Yarou's quantum physics or Kimi no Na Wa's musubi concept. Give it a try and go break a leg. 8.5/10



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Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria
Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria
Autor Mikage, Eiji
Artista --